The Lost Alpha
by xXPokePotterIslandXx
Summary: I'm not from around here. I'm not like others. I'm not even human. I have exactly one goal in my life: don't get noticed. But my home hasn't stopped changing since I left it, and not necessarily for the better, and I might be one of the few people who can do something about it. Canon couples! Rated because I'm paranoid!
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

**Prologue**

The police car trundled along slowly. The golden beams cast out by the headlights illuminated the empty road ahead of it. It was midnight, and the policemen inside the car were grumpy. They were tired and irritable, because what crimes would occur at midnight? During the day, they know and understand that, in fact, many crimes can be committed at midnight, but anyone's mind has a tendency to lose its logical thought when the full moon is at its highest point and owls are hooting. It certainly doesn't help when the policemen in question have never once come across a criminal act during their night shifts.

"How much longer?" One of them asked around a yawn. The other checked his watch. "Still got two more hours."

His partner groaned and slid down further into his seat. The one with the watch couldn't help but agree. Dang, he hated these shifts! It would be better if something happened occasionally, but nothing ever did! Absolutely nothi-

His thought was interrupted by a scream.

The policemen who'd been sliding down his chair jolted back up with a start. He looked at his partner, wide-eyed with shock. His partner shut his eyes and listened to the steady onslaught of screaming. It sounded like a child, not a very young one though. A preteen perhaps? And it didn't sound very far. It would be better to go investigate on foot, so as not to startle the kid, or alert any possible criminals to the fact they had been discovered.

Now with a plan, the policeman stepped out of the vehicle and ran towards the sound, his partner at his heels. One had rested on the taser gun hanging from his belt. It that kid was being assaulted in any way, that crook was going to get a very nasty surprise.

But as the policemen rushed around a corner where the screaming was coming from, they didn't see any criminal beating at a helpless child. Only a boy, curled up in a tight ball, clutching his head. A few people in the nearby apartments had come to their windows and were glaring down at the boy, clearly thinking he was just a child throwing a tantrum. But the policemen could see the boy's pale face, the tears streaming down his cheeks, the tenseness of his muscles. This wasn't a tantrum, this was suffering.

One of the policemen slowly made his way over to the boy, trying desperately not to scare him. He reached out and, ever so gently, place a hand on the boy's shoulder. He didn't even seem to feel the touch, nor did he react when the policeman turned his face this way and that, looking for injury, then examining the boy's bare arms and neck. He shot a mystified glance up at his partner, shaking his head. No injuries.

Deciding the boy's agony must be originating from some kind of inner injury or illness, the policemen decided to bring the boy to the hospital. They had to carry him back to their car since he didn't seem able to walk. Once again, the boy didn't notice their presence.

By the time they arrived at the hospital, the boy's screaming had thoroughly exhausted him, and he was reduced to hacking sobs and erratic breaths. Finally noticing the two policemen, the boy shrank away from them at first, fear and distrust showing through every ounce of body language he possessed, but he didn't put up a fight as they carried him back out the car.

Once under the bright lights of the hospital, the policemen could see the boy properly. And what they saw shocked them.

The boy only looked around twelve or thirteen, but he had more scars than some streetfighters the policemen had had to arrest over the course of their jobs. His arms were thick with muscle. The boy's teeth were gritted against the obviously ongoing pain, exposing fanglike canines. But the strangest thing about the boy was his wardrobe. He was wearing a medieval-style sleeveless tunic with breeches and soft boots, all made of some sort of thick, grey animal pelt.

A choked gasp from the boy reminded the policemen of the situation they were in and they quickly hurried him to the front desk. The receptionist looked the boy up and down, wide-eyed with shock.

"This boy's in serious pain!" Cried one of the policemen, "He needs a doctor!"

Shaking off her surprise enough to process the boy's condition, the receptionist grabbed a phone and paused with her hand over the dial.

"I'll need to know his injuries so I can alert an appropriate physician."

"We don't know what's wrong with him." The second policeman admitted. "That's part of the reason we brought him here. We think he might have some internal bleeding or something."

The receptionist nodded and quickly punched in a number and informing the person on the other end of the phone of the situation. Minutes later, several nurses accompanied by a doctor rushed into the reception and took the boy off the policemen's hands, hurrying him away.

The policemen, who had been dreaming of their beds barely an hour ago, now couldn't even sit still. They paced, tapped their feet, wrung their hands. When the doctor finally came back through, they immediately hurried over to him and started bombarding him with questions. "What was wrong?" "Will the boy be okay?" "How bad is it?"

The doctor could only spread his hands helplessly and shake his head. "We don't know what's wrong. He has no internal bleeding, no broken bones, there's nothing in his blood that could be causing the problem and his body seems to be functioning normally. He's certainly not faking the pain, his is blood pressure and heart rate are proof of that, but there doesn't seem to be any physical cause. In fact, he seems to be in very good health!"

The policemen exchanged worried glances.

"Do you think it's psychological then?" One of them asked.

"Maybe, but I'd schedule for him to meet a psychiatrist just to be sure. For now, its best that you take him back to the police station and try to figure out where he lives. Maybe his parents can shed some light on this."

Which is how the policemen found themselves driving back to the station with a sobbing boy in the back seat an hour early.

When they arrived, the policemen opened the door to the passenger seats and readied themselves to carry the boy out again. He'd stopped crying by then, though his face was still tight with pain, but he surprised the policemen by pushing himself along the seats and out the door. He shook as he left the support of the car seats and gripped the car roof to steady himself. Every muscle in his body was stiff and tense.

The policemen took the boy into the office of the chief of police and sat him down in the audience chair.

"Wait here," One said, placing his hand on the boy's shoulder in a gesture he hoped was reassuring, "we'll get the chief."

The boy said nothing.

About five minutes later, the chief of police arrived. He took the seat behind the desk and smiled at the boy. "Hey there. Sounds like you've had a rough night, huh?"

The boy didn't react.

The chief waited silently for a few moments before clearing his throat awkwardly and pulling out a notepad and pen. "I'm just gonna ask you a few questions, see if we can get you back home, okay?"  
"You can't."

The chief starts at the boy's voice. He'd been starting to wonder if the boy understood English. "I… I can't what?"

"Get me home. You can't get me home."

Reaching across the desk, the chief gave the boy a quick pat on the shoulder and tried for a reassuring smile. "Hey, don't be like that! I'm sure it only feels that way because you're lost and probably terrified of this being in a strange place, but I'm sure we can get you home!"

The chief proceeded to ask his questions: "Where are your parents?" "Where do you live?" "Where are you from?" But he always got the exact same answer: "Far away. Very, very far away."

He tried a different tactic and asked the boy for his parents' email address or phone number. He almost dropped his pen when the boy responded that he didn't know what either of these things were. The kid seemed to be the age when they all took an interest in social media. How could he not know what a phone number or email address was? He must live somewhere very remote, the chief concluded. That would also explain the weird clothes. It would probably be pointless to ask for a postal address then.

So, he decided to ask for the names of the boy's parents.

"You won't find them." Was the reply, "You can't. They're too far away. I might as well not have parents."

The chief sighed. "Look kid, you're obviously really sure about this so I'll just have to put you down as an orphan. You can stay here at the police station until we find a family to take you in. You apparently can't give me any info on your parents or where you live, but can you at least tell me some stuff about yourself? Your name and your age for now."

The boy told the chief his name and that he was twelve years old. The chief recorded it and called for one of the policemen from before to find the kid a bed. The boy quickly burrowed his way under the covers and buried his face in the pillow. The policeman paused in the doorway and regarded him sympathetically.

"Don't worry kid. We'll find you a family soon, you'll see."

**A/N: My first TLC fanfic that's not a crossover! What ya'll think? We've got a small (and very perplexing) hunk of backstory for our protagonist riddled with mysteries. Why was he in pain when he was perfectly healthy? Why is he so adamant that he can't get home? Who is he anyway? Okay, that last one was pretty obvious but the others…! Please review!**


	2. The New Girl

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Wolf's POV:

**The New Girl**

The creaking sound of the door opening wakes me up from another fitful sleep, but I don't move.

There is a click as the light turns on, followed by a voice.

"C'mon kid, breakfast is in the meeting room. There's bacon if you want it."

I give no indication that I heard him, or even that I'm awake. This happens every morning, ever since the police found me seven years ago and brought me to the station. Officer Grant would come into my room to wake me up and I'd offer no reaction.

Grant sighs and I listen to his receding footsteps as he leaves the room.

Finally, I open my eyes and swing my legs out of the bed. I stretch and rub the sleep out of my eyes before heading over to my wardrobe. I open the doors to reveal black and grey T-shirts hanging from a metal bar crossing the wardrobe and neatly folded jeans sitting in the cubby holes. No bright colours, no slogans, no patterns. That's the way I like it. I hate being noticed. Nearly everything I do is to try and make me inconspicuous. Not an easy task, given that I usually stand out easily in a crowd.

First of all, there's my height. I'm taller than all the police at the station and I'm about a head taller than all the kids in my year. Not exactly helpful when your objective is to blend in. Second, my scars. Most of them were from fights and scrapes I got into back home, with a few new additions from small accidents since I came here. I've lost count of how many times I've been asked if I'm a street fighter because of them. Third, I got held back two years at school. When I arrived in the Commonwealth, I knew how to read and write and could do basic maths, but science? History? Forget it. I had to repeat the year twice to learn it all. Being the only nineteen-year-old in school generally attracts one or two stares. Fourth, I'm muscular. Very muscular. It's not like I lift weights or anything, I just put on muscle really easily. Still, it's not exactly common. Finally, I have a tattoo on my left forearm. I don't even know _what_ had been going through my head when I got it, but I'm the only kid at my school who has a tattoo, or at least a tattoo everyone can see. Put it all together, not being noticed is just about impossible for me, though it doesn't stop me from trying.

I pick out a shirt and pair of jeans at random and pull them on before heading out to the meeting room for breakfast.

When I enter the room, I'm met with several "good mornings" from the police officers already there. I nod at them in reply before grabbing a plate and piling slices of bacon on it.

"You've got an appointment with Dr Pine this afternoon." A policewoman, Jane, tells me as I grab a slice of buttered toast. "Do you want any of us to drive you?"

"No thanks." I reply, "I can walk."

And that's the end of that conversation.

Suddenly, the door to the meeting room opens with a bang, causing everyone to jump. The boisterous voice of the chief soon follows.

"Here are my protectors of the city! And here," He adds, ruffling my hair, "is my favourite orphan! Sleep well kiddo?"

"Fine." My reply feels ridiculously quiet and flat after the chief's big greeting. Then again, most of my replies are flat.

"Atta boy! Oh, and before I forget, I just got a call from the school. There's a new kid starting today! Maybe they'll manage to finally break that shell of yours, eh?" The chief chuckles and takes a seat. I decide not to voice my doubts about this new kid "breaking my shell" and leave him to his enthusiasm. For me, all a new kid means is a week of wearing hoodies and long-sleeved shirts to hide my tattoo until they inevitably hear about it from someone else.

I push open the double doors of the school and walk inside. I keep my gaze trained on the ground and pull the black hood of my hoodie over my head. I know it doesn't do all that much, but it makes me feel a bit safer.

I block out the shouting and laughter all around me as I open my locker. I toss in my books haphazardly and forcibly tug out the volumes I need for my morning classes. Several teachers have told me that I should try to be more organised, but I can't really be bothered stacking all my books and binders neatly and colour coding them. It's a locker, not a filing cabinet.

"Hey Wolf!"

I suppress a sigh and turn around to look at Kai. He offers me a grin that I don't return.

"So, anything interesting on today?" He asks me.

"No."

"Well then, any plans for the weekend?"

"No."

"You know, I hear Thorne's throwing a party. I can ask him if you can come if you want?"

"No."  
"Right, right. Have you heard about the new kid?"

"Yes."

"Apparently their coming here from France. Can you imagine coming here from someplace so far away? It must be super weird for them."  
"I guess."

Kai glances at the floor awkwardly and shuffles his feet.

"Well… good talk Wolf."

He waves at me and hurries off, probably to talk to someone who gives full sentence answers.

I sigh and shut my locker. Every day, Kai tries to make friendly conversation with me, to be nice. And every day I deflect his efforts. I appreciate the fact that Kai's trying to be nice and all, and it's not that I don't like him it's just… I can't have friends. Friends tell each other things, make each other laugh, hang out. I can't do any of those things. It's better if I don't become a friend, than be a completely shoddy one.

My first class is English. I sit down heavily at my desk in the back row and pull out my books, dropping them unceremoniously on its wooden surface. The teacher hasn't arrived yet, so the classroom is alive with chatter and talk. I tune out the noise and stare out the window, counting the clouds as they drift across the sky.

By the time I get to thirty, I realise that a hush has fallen over the class. I glance up at the front of the room to see the teacher, Ms Hoshi, smiling at us.

"Good morning class! As you all know, you have a project on Shakespeare coming up, so today we will be doing an analysis task on Romeo and Juliet meeting for the second time at her balcony. First, I'll put you all into partners. In your pairs, I want you to act out the dialogue of Romeo and Juliet's meeting. Then, I want you to annotate the text, highlighting key language and structural features. Finally, I want you to complete two analytical paragraphs on the text: one about the language features used, and one about structure. If you don't finish these paragraphs, that will be your homework for tonight, due tomorrow."

Several students cast uneasy looks at me. I just take out some highlighters from my pencil case and pretend not to notice. I can hardly blame them for looking at me like that. After all, who would want to be partnered up with the weird quiet kid covered in scars?

"But before we get to all of that," Ms Hoshi continues, "we have a new student joining us today!"

She gestures to the door and a girl steps into the classroom. She has bright red curly hair that clashes with her red hoodie. Her face is covered in freckles and her eyes are the colour of tree bark.

She stands facing the class with her arms folded, chin jutting out, as if challenging everyone in the room.

Ms Hoshi places a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Everyone, this is Scarlet Benoit. She's come here all the way from France. Make sure you give her a nice, warm welcome, okay?"

"I'd be more than happy to Ms Hoshi." A boy named Thorne in the front row leans forward on his desk. I can imagine him looking Scarlet up and down with a lopsided grin on his face.

Scarlet rolls her eyes. "Don't you have a blonde to chase after?"

Thorne barks with laughter. "Ooh, a feisty one! Tell me _mademoiselle_, are all French girls as gorgeous as you are?"

"Are all the boys in this school as idiotic as you are?"

The class _ooh_s in unison and Thorne barks in laughter again, obviously heavily enjoying this conversation.

Ms Hoshi clears her throat loudly and the class reluctantly turns their attention back to her. She gestures to the desk next to mine. "Scarlet, for now, I'll seat you next to Wolf."

"Ooh, very clever Ms Hoshi!" Thorne calls out.

Ms Hoshi raises an eyebrow at him, obviously not following. To be honest, neither am I. Thorne usually protests when a girl gets sat next to me (or anyone that's not him). What's with the sudden turnaround?

"I'm not sure I know what you mean Carswell." Ms Hoshi says, frowning. Scarlet snorts at Thorne's first name.

"Well come on!" He exclaims, apparently not noticing Scarlet's amusement. "You've gotta put Little Red with the Big Bad Wolf!"

I suppress a groan. I should've seen that coming.

The whole class erupts into laughter and I resort to staring out the window again. That's generally my default whenever something like this happens: stare into space, and try to forget where you are.

Ms Hoshi claps her hands furiously and shouts at the class, but it still takes several minutes for noise to finally die down. She rubs her eyes with one hand and points at Scarlet's new desk. She plops down into the chair next to mine and scatters all her school stuff onto the table top.

Sighing, Ms Hoshi begins assigning partners.

"Carswell, you go with Iko. Kai, you're with Cress. Wolf, you can be Scarlet's partner."

I glance at my new partner. She scowls back at me. Okay, so she doesn't like me then. What else is new?

Once Ms Hoshi finishes assigning partners, she hands out script sheets with the lines written on them.

"You have thirty minutes. Please begin."

Scarlet turns in her chair to face me and gestures to my script. "Alright Romeo, you start."

Obediently, I look down at my script and read aloud.

"_But, soft! What light from yonder window breaks?_

_It is the east, and Juliet is the sun."_

Scarlet sniggers and I stop, waiting for her to finish. Still sniggering, she gestures for me to continue.

"_Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,_

_Who is already sick and pale with grief,"_

This time, Scarlet snorts loudly. Chuckling, she wipes a pretend tear from her eyes.

"Well," She sniggers, "I hope you're not looking for a career in acting."

I shake my head wordlessly.

Scarlet takes a deep breath, obviously trying to collect herself, only to break out in muffled laughter again.

"Sorry, sorry." She manages, sounding not at all apologetic, "It's just, you're saying these poetic, loving words, but your tone… well, it sounds like a rock is speaking. It just sounds so weird and funny! Here, like this:"

She picks up her script and finds a line said by Juliet.

"_O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?_

_Deny thy father and refuse thy name;_

_Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,_

_And I'll no longer be a Capulet."_

The words are longing and desperate, but Scarlet's voice as she says them… it sounds completely empty, like she's reading a business contract. And, hearing it, I can't help but agree with what Scarlet was saying earlier: it is actually really funny! I feel the corner of my mouth twitch into a brief smile.

And then comes the pain.

Needles pierce through my skin and tear at my muscle. My blood feels as though it is boiling in my veins. A headache builds behind my eyes and my lungs squeeze, cutting off my air. My heart pounds in my chest so fast and so loud that I swear it will burst. My stomach roils and I swallow back the flood of bile that suddenly rises up my throat.

I clench my fists and feel warm blood drip onto my fingertips as my nails pierce the soft flesh of my palms.

The pain is fleeting, only lasting a few seconds before fading to nothing.

I wipe my bloodied hands on my pants and pick up my script again.

"Let's just get this over with." I tell Scarlet without looking at her. I imagine her frowning at me as I continue to read my lines as Romeo.

The seizure hadn't been too bad this time, then again, the one's caused by amusement generally aren't. Happiness, sadness, anger, those are the bad ones. The ones that feel as though drills are shredding apart my bones from the inside out, where my blood becomes acid burning its way through my system. Where my skull feels as though it's being smashed open with a mallet, and my tears feel like liquid fire.

This is why I can't have friends. Friends make you happy, sad, angry. For me, they'll only bring seizures. There is only one bigger reason why I can't have friends. The kids in this school, the cops at the station, they're all human. And I'm not.

**A/N: Thorne and Scarlet's conversation was so fun to write! **

**As you can see, Wolf's got a lot of stuff going on. Why does he have seizures? What does Wolf mean when he says he's not human? Why was there no Wolflet in this chapter (or at least a much to small amount of Wolflet)? Well, the first two questions will have to wait, but the third question is because there will be more Wolf/Scarlet interactions in chapter 2! Please review! **


	3. Green Eyes

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Scarlet's POV:

**Green eyes**

I glare at my feet impatiently. I've been sitting in a plastic chair in this plain white waiting room for twenty minutes now with the person I hate most in the world sitting in the chair next to me: my dad.

Right now, he's just scrolling through his phone, looking bored. I'd be doing the same if he hadn't taken my phone away from me. He said it was so I wouldn't become a social media zombie (which made me laugh. The man has, like, ten social media platforms!) but I know it's so I won't try to contact Grandmère.

I don't get why he's so determined to look after me all of a sudden. All of my life, he's all but ignored my existence, especially after Mum left us. I got so fed up with it that I eventually ran away to live with Grandmère on her farm. I was seven at the time.

I stayed there for a decade, a wonderful, blissful decade, before dear old Dad decided that he did want custody of me after all. And not only did he take me away from the only family who actually wanted me, he dragged me to an entirely new country for some job he's probably going to lose within a year! Plus, we both have to see a therapist for parent-child counselling since our relationship is basically non-existent and is too full of problems for a normal support group to handle. On the upside, Dad has to suffer through these things with me _and_ pay for them. Hey, any inconvenience to him is something to be happy about for me.

When I got home from school this afternoon, I half-expected Dad to ask me about my day. Grandmère always asked and I guess I just hoped for one similarity between her and her son. It was a stupid hope.

It's not like anything noteworthy happened anyway. I glared at boys who checked me out, stuck my tongue out at the popular girls who turned their noses up at me, fought to keep my eyes open in science class, and met a guy with a horribly inappropriate (and kinda dumb) nickname: Wolf.

Seriously, the guy is as far from a wolf as you can get! He's not aggressive, not rebellious, not arrogant or cocky. In fact, he doesn't seem to be much of anything. Just an empty husk of a boy. Which was weird since his appearance held plenty of character.

His brown hair stuck up at all angles and he had several scars on his face and neck, and probably more on his arms too. He was one of the tallest guys I'd ever seen, even taller than my dad, and about three times as muscular. But the most striking thing about him were his eyes. They were like the sour grapes Grandmère used to grow, or ivy leaves. Life and energy seemed to shine out of their depths. A life and energy I quickly found didn't actually exist. His expression was stone, his tone empty. His movements held no urgency or reluctance. The closest I got to seeing emotion on him was when his mouth twitched after I read Juliet's lines in his blank voice and when he clenched his fists immediately after. He was like a walking, talking statue.

"Luc and Scarlet Benoit!"

I glance up at the lady sitting at the reception desk. She gestures at the corridor which, I assume, leads to the therapy offices.

"Dr Erland will see you now. He's in room 3B."

Dad reluctantly puts away his phone and walks down the corridor. I glare at his retreating back and contemplate just staying in the waiting room. Figuring the lady at reception would just tell me to get going, I stand and follow my dad.

Dr Erland turns out to be a short old man with grey hair and blue eyes. He regards my dad and I from his small chair next to the big sofa we're sitting on. He's holding a notepad and pen, probably for taking notes on how abysmal our relationship is. He pushes up his glasses and sighs.

"Sir," He begins, speaking to my dad, "given that you are in a therapy session and I'll be needing your full attention, I must ask you to put away your phone."

Dad grumbles under his breath but slips the phone into his pocket. Dr Erland nods at him in appreciation and clears his throat.

"Let's begin. Miss… Scarlet, yes? How long have you been living with your father?"

"I lived with him until I was seven, then I ran away to live with my grandmother. He left me alone for a decade then, about a month ago decided the he did want me after all and dragged me to the Commonwealth."

Dr Erland raised his eyebrows. "You ran away that young? Interesting. May I ask what prompted the action?"

I snort and glare at Dad, "He didn't care about me one bit. Every night he'd come home at midnight _at best_ stinking of alcohol. He was always bringing home his "lady friends", he forgot my birthday nearly every year and half the time I had to buy my own clothes when my old one's got too small because he didn't want to spend money on his own daughter."

Dad scowls at me. "You weren't exactly Little Miss Perfect either young lady. Who's the one who was always throwing over-the-top tantrums and breaking things?"

"It was the only way to get you to notice I exist you worthless drunkard!"

"Leave off the insults please," says Dr Erland as he scribbles something on his notepad, "it will do nothing to help develop your relationship."

"If Dad wanted a healthy relationship, he wouldn't pass out on the couch every night with a bottle of cognac." I mutter darkly.

The doctor ignores me.

"Luc, how did you feel when Scarlet ran away? Were you worried? Angry? Guilty?"

"I was irritated." Dad answers, "Her grandmother wanted me to pick her up right away during work hours."

"And did you?"

Dad rolls his eyes. "Of course not! I'd just gotten a new job, no way was I going to risk losing it for some ungrateful brat!"

"Oh, did I have something I should have been grateful for?" I snap at him furiously. "Please, enlighten me."

Dr Erland scribbles something else down and shakes his head. "We've got a long way to go."

He pushes up his glasses and flashes us an unexpected smile. "On the upside, I might finally beat Dr Pine for the award for "Most Uncooperative Patient"! He's been getting that honour for nearly a decade!"

I raise an eyebrow at him. "Is that seriously a real award?"

"No, it just means we have the right to whine about it to the other therapists."

"How much longer am I going to be stuck here?" Dad whines like a small child. Then again, he has the brain of a small child, so I guess that makes sense.

Dr Erland shoots him a disappointed look. "Luc, you've only been here for ten minutes."

"I've got plans for this evening!"

I can't help the snort of laughter that follows Dad's statement. "Yeah, right. You going to down a bottle of whiskey instead of cognac this time?"

Dad points a furious finger at me. "You ought to watch your tone young lady! In case you've forgotten, I'm the one paying for everything you have here! Your education, your food and water, your room, everything!"

"Well if I'm such a drain on your bank account, why did you take me away from Grandmère?" I scream back, shooting to my feet. I'm fed up. With this stupid therapy session, with Dad acting like I should be grateful, with this stupid new country, all of it! I'm sick of this!

I glare at my Dad, staring up at me with his nose wrinkled in disgust. I snap.

I draw back my hand and slap him across the face, good and hard. As he stares at me, shock written all over his face, I snarl, "I wish you weren't my father."

"SCARLET!"

I blink at Dr Erland in shock. I'd completely forgotten he was here. And he looks furious.

"I understand that you have "daddy issues" but can you _please_ refrain from saying things like that?" he hisses at me through his teeth. "The walls of this hospital aren't exactly thick and there is another patient in here most days who doesn't have parents to begin with! So if you _don't_ mind, stop saying things like "I wish you weren't my father", okay?"

I nod, defeated, and sit back down.

A pit of guilt settles in my stomach. I hadn't meant to be… _insensitive,_ or anything. How was I to know that there was an orphan here? Still, if they heard me… they've probably spent their whole lives wishing for a family, and here I am, discarding one of the few family members I have left. True, Dad's hardly a good family member, but I guess that he's better than nothing.

Dr Erland sighs and rubs his temples, frowning at his notepad. The air feels tense after my outburst, and I shift uncomfortably in my seat.

Okay, that's it. I can't stand this.

"So…" I begin awkwardly, trying to break the silence. "what is it about Dr Pine's patient that means he gets whining rights?"

It might be my imagination, but I swear that Dr Erland shoots me a grateful look.

"He's completely unresponsive to any stimulus Dr Pine tries on him. Just sits there, like a statue, and almost a quiet. He always answers questions in the shortest way possible and never starts a conversation. He never laughs, never cries, never screams or shouts, it's like he doesn't even exist."

Dr Erland jerks his thumb at the back wall. "He's having a session now, actually, just next door."

"How old is this guy?" Dad suddenly speaks up.

"Oh, about nineteen or so." Dr Erland replies with a shrug.

"I'm jealous of his parents." Dad grumbles, glaring at the wall where the kid, supposedly, is having a therapy session. "What I wouldn't give for Scarlet to be quiet, obedient, and unresponsive."

I snarl and raise my hand, fully intending to hit him again, when loud, screeching music suddenly blasts into the room.

Instinctively, I clap my hands over my ears. What the heck was that?

Dr Erland looks just as rattled as I am, but his surprised expression quickly gives way to annoyance. He puts down his notepad and gets up from his chair, heading for the door. Curious, I follow him out.

He bangs forcefully on the door next to ours, where Dr Pine's patient is. A tall middle-aged man answers it, wearing a pair of noise-cancelling headphones.

"Afternoon Dmitri!" He yells over the noise, "What brings you here?"

"What do you think?" Dr Erland shouts back.

"I know that it's a bit loud, but that's the most jarring way of playing heavy metal! I was hoping it'd shock a reaction out of the boy."

I'm guessing "the boy" is his patient.

"And did it?" Dr Erland screams at Dr Pine.

"Well… he stuck his fingers in his ears."

"That's not a reaction, that's just trying to avoid becoming prematurely deaf!"

While the doctors argue, I stand on tiptoe, trying to get a look at this mystery patient.

I eventually catch a glimpse of a bulky frame and a head of messy brown hair. Sure enough, his fingers are set firmly in his ears.

I lose my balance and grunt as I stumble back onto the soles of my feet. Scowling with frustration, I stand on my toes again. This time, the boy is looking in my direction. And his eyes are unbelievably bright green. Wolf.

My own eyes widen with shock at the sight of him, here, at a hospital. I fall back onto the soles of my feet but make no attempt to get back onto my tiptoes again. Why should I? I know who he is now. Come to think of it, Wolf should have come to mind pretty much immediately. Completely unresponsive? Gives the shortest answer possible? That pretty much fit Wolf to a tee.

"If all you're going to do is play dumb music to try and improve my relationship with my ungrateful daughter, then this is a waste of time and money."

I roll my eyes. Great, Dad's joined the party.

Dr Erland glares at him, clearly not at all pleased with the intrusion. "That's just Dr Pine's methods to try and treat an entirely different case. I assure you, we'll be mostly doing things like trust exercises and the like."

Dad raises an eyebrow. "And that stuff's better _how?"_

"Can I go now?"

I almost don't hear the question over the music, since the speaker hadn't bothered with shouting like the rest of us.

I glance up and see Wolf, standing a good half-head taller than his therapist, with a backpack slung over one shoulder and fingers still in his ears. Not that I can blame him. This music is officially the worst I've ever heard.

Dr Pine waves a hand dismissively. "Yes, yes, you can go. Try watching some cartoons when you get back, see if they'll incite a chuckle or two."

Wolf glances away, looking doubtful.

"Wait, _he _gets to leave early?" Dad cries with outrage. "I thought he was the worst case in this whole hospital or something!"

Dr Pine just shrugs. "Well, his session is scheduled to end in only about twenty minutes anyway so it's not that much of a loss."

Dad looks ready to explode. I smirk at his obvious irritation. This is turning out to be way more fun than I thought.

Wolf tries to move past us, but Dad, being the jerk he is, sticks out one leg.

Wolf stumbles over it with a short grunt of surprise and gives Dad a look. It isn't an irritated or angry look, not really. More of a, _"Seriously?" _look. I know that look well. I give it to my dad all the time.

"Now you listen here," Dad growls up at Wolf, "you're not leaving this stupid hospital until your session is over. If I can't leave early, then why should you get the privilege?"

At first, Wolf offers no reaction. Then he scowls. His nose wrinkles and he turns away, covering it with one hand.

He shoots my dad a mildly disgusted look. "Dang, when was the last time you had a shower? You smell like pickled eggs!"

I don't see Dad's reaction to this statement. I'm too busy laughing my head off. It's true, Dad does smell something awful, but usually only I or Grandmère tell him that. And hearing it coming from Wolf of all people? It's just too good!

Dr Pine snaps his fingers as an idea strikes him. "Hey, you actually commented on that! Next session, I'll be bringing rotten eggs, garlic and blue cheese for you to smell, seeing as smells seem to initiate a response."

I snort and giggle even harder at this and give Wolf a sympathetic pat on the arm.

"Oh man, I feel so sorry for you!" I chuckle.

Wolf tilts his head and studies me with those strange green eyes. It's only when he hesitantly says, "Thanks?" that I realise I've just confused him.

It's kinda cute.

**A/N: Scarlet = funnest character to write EVER! **

**So, here we've got some insight into Scarlet's backstory as well as a look at her relationship with her dad (who was also very fun to write). Also, Dr Erland's in this story! And let me tell you now, he's not going to play a minor part ;) . Why did Scarlet's dad bring her into his custody when he obviously doesn't care about her? Will Scarlet continue to think of Wolf as a strange, empty person? More importantly, who will narrate the next chapter? Please review! **


	4. The Mechanic

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Kai's POV:

**The Mechanic**

I stare out the window of the sports car I'm riding to school. At first, I try counting cars, just for something to do, a distraction. But the task is too mundane, and I quickly lose interest.

Glancing towards the driver's seat in front of me, I consider trying to make conversation with the chauffer. Nah, he'd probably just pretend he didn't hear me. His job is to drive me and my dad around, not to provide entertainment as well.

I sigh and go back to staring out the window, barely registering the tall apartments and squat shops that slide across my vision. This is a prosperous, healthy town, and my father has worked hard to keep it that way. He's been a bit of a guardian angel to this place. The only difference is that angels are immortal. And my dad most definitely is not. A fact that's become increasingly clear with his sudden illness.

Dad's been sick for about a week now, and the scary part is, no one can tell what is wrong with him. His body's functioning just fine physically, and there's no evidence that the illness is killing him. But the doctors did find an anomaly in his blood sample. They had to call a scientific research team from another country over to study it since they had no idea what it was.

The main thing the illness seems to be affecting is Dad's mind. He just stumbles from room to room randomly, bumping into staff and government officials. He's needed help with pretty much everything: getting dressed, eating, drinking, washing, brushing his teeth, the staff have even had to push his eyelids down for him so that he will sleep! It's almost like he's sleepwalking or something. Whenever he sees me, he stares at me for a few seconds before saying in this weird, dreamy voice: "Hello Kai." Every time he stares at me, I get the awful feeling that he's trying to remember who I am. But the weirdest effect the illness seems to have on him has to do with his eyes: they're completely black; no whites, no irises, just shiny black orbs set into his head.

The doctors have assured me countless times that the illness isn't physically harming him in any way, that he'll be fine, that I'm overreacting. And every time I believe them less.

The car stops and I realise that we've arrived. I get out and thank the driver, before shutting the door and heading into the school.

Once inside, everyone smiles at me, jokes, calls out various greetings, and raises their hands for high-fives. I smile back, I laugh at their jokes, I greet them back and I deliver high-fives, but inside I feel as though I'm dying. My father is sick. I might never get him back. And yet here I am, faking happiness to my peers because I'm not ready for their condolences yet. That would mean he really is gone.

I catch sight of Wolf standing by his locker, rummaging inside for something or other.

I quicken my pace as I make my way over to him. Most of the kids here think of Wolf as just "that emotionless kid with the scars and weird eyes", but I think he's just hiding. I mean, no one can be truly emotionless, that's impossible! No, I'm sure Wolf still feels things just as strongly as the rest of us, maybe even stronger, and acting like he doesn't is just his way of hiding it, just like I'm hiding my grief behind fake smiles and laughter. And that small thing we have in common now has made me even more desperate to get to befriend him. Because Wolf would _understand_. Though so far, I'm not having much luck.

I put on my most approachable smile and force my voice to sound cheerful as I say, "Hey Wolf."

He turns to me, and I force my smile to not falter under his bright green gaze. Dang, those eyes are _intense_. How is that shade of green even possible?

"You said you had no plans for this weekend, right?"

"Yes."

"And you're sure you don't want to come to Thorne's party? It could be fun."

"Yes."

"Well then, I was wondering if maybe you'd like to come to my place. You know, to hang out"

Actually I want Wolf to come over so I could show him what I'm going through. I don't know if it's the scars or his reclusive nature, but I feel like he's a person who'd understand pain. Which is why it's all the more disappointing when he replies: "No."

Well, so much for that.

"Okay then." I say, trying to recover, "What do you think of the new girl, Scarlet?"

He shrugs.

"Thorne said you were her partner for some sort of Shakespeare reading task in English. You guys must have talked then, right?"

"A bit."

"Speaking of Thorne, he probably tried flirting with her, huh?"

"Yes."

"Please tell me she didn't swoon over him. The last thing this school needs is another ex-girlfriend of Thorne."

I really mean that to. I swear, at least half of the girls here have dated Thorne at some point (which has partially contributed to his gigantic head).

I tiny glint of emotion enters Wolf's eyes, followed immediately by his fists clenching. I guess I'm starting to annoy him.

"No." He replies and I breathe a sigh of relief. At least one thing's going right.

My first class for the day is Maths. I arrive five minutes early and head straight to my seat. Once I'm sitting, I grab a random textbook from the assortment I have with me and open it up, pretending to study. This is my other, less exhausting method of hiding: pretend to be busy.

I try to subtly observe the students as they trickle into the class. As the minutes tick by, I slowly give up on being secretive and just openly study my classmates. I'm looking for someone. The only other person besides Wolf who I feel I can talk to about my problems.

The bell rings and I feel my heart sink with disappointment. They must have stayed home today. Maybe they're sick?

I construct my face into my "Paying Attention" expression as the teacher arrives and starts calling out the roll.

About halfway through the list, the door suddenly flies open with a deafening bang and another student rushes inside, crying, "Sorry I'm late! I overslept!"

The teacher scowls at her but doesn't make a comment. Meanwhile, I break out in my first real smile all day. Finally, Cinder's here.

She's wearing a grey jacket over a black shirt and baggy cargo pants. Her lace up boots thump audibly against the classroom floor as she takes her seat next to mine. She'd been wearing what I've taken to calling her "signature gloves" when she walked in but takes them off as soon as she's seated and throws them on the desk before covering them with a disorganised pile of books.

I don't talk to her while the teacher is carrying out the lesson. My dad's drilled respect for other people so hard that I don't dare. But I do try (and fail) to catch her eye several times.

When we're finally given time to carry out the assigned task, I give her a quick tap on the shoulder, signalling that I want to talk.

"So, you overslept, huh?" I ask her with a grin.

"Hey, it's not my fault! I had to work double shifts at work last night! It was nearly midnight by the time I was allowed back home!"

"Well at least you managed to squeeze in a shower."

Cinder blinks at me in surprise and I allow myself a quiet chuckle.

"If you hadn't, you'd be covered in oil and grease stains right now."

Cinder turns away with a roll of her eyes, but not before I see the blush forming on her cheeks.

Cinder works as a mechanic in a car shop downtown, so seeing her without some sort of grime on her is a rare sight. Even now she has a smudge of grease on her forehead. I don't bother telling her though. It's kinda cute, in a Cinder sort of way.

Every time I have a car problem, I take it to Cinder's shop. Partially because she's the best mechanic in town. Heck, maybe even the country! I've yet to have a mechanical problem she couldn't fix. The only reason more people don't go to her is because the shop she works for is so small. I've asked her if she wanted me to spread the word, but she insisted she had enough work to do with the customers she had. I was kinda relieved to be honest. I like being one of the few people she serves.

Which brings me to the other, slightly bigger reason I always go to Cinder when I have a mechanical problem: I like her. A lot. I mean, how can I not? She's funny and smart and couldn't care less what people thought of her. She doesn't treat me any differently from other people just because I'm the mayor's son, unlike some other students I know, and doesn't hesitate to tell me I'm being an idiot (which, as it turns out, happens a lot more often than I'd like).

I feel comfortable around Cinder, like I could just tell her anything, give her any problem, and she'd just be able to snap her fingers and then it would be fixed. That's why I want to talk to her about my dad. I know she won't be able to make him better, she's a mechanic, not a doctor. But I just know that, somehow, she'll find a reason for me to hope.

An awkward silence passes between us for a few minutes. This usually happens when Cinder and I talk: we'd exchange a few sentences, then say nothing for several minutes.

I eventually break the silence with a question. "Are you going to Thorne's party this weekend?"

Cinder snorts. "And watch him hit on literally every single girl there? I'd rather drink motor oil."

I'm disappointed but hide it with a teasing grin.

"Guess you'll be hanging out with Wolf this weekend then. He's not going either."

"Well _that's_ a given. That guy goes out even less than I do. Heck, even Cress gets out there even more than he does!"

I shrug. "That's just the way he is."

Cinder bites her lip and another awkward silence passes between us. This time, she's the one to break it.

"Doesn't he unsettle you?"

"Who?" I ask, though I'm pretty sure I know who she's talking about.

"Wolf. Doesn't he unsettle you at all?"

"No, why?"

Cinder gazes down at her notebook. I can't help but notice how uncomfortable she looks.

"It's just, don't you get the feeling that something's… off, about him? He never smiles, never laughs, never shouts-"

"He just doesn't like drawing attention to himself is all." I interrupt her. Despite barely knowing the guy, I feel the urge to defend him.

"And that's it! You've seen how many scars he has! Someone that reclusive doesn't just get that many injuries by accident."

I scowl down at my notebook. She has a point. I've never really given much thought to Wolf's many scars before, but it is strange that someone who seems to avoid social interaction at all costs would have them. I've always assumed that Wolf was hiding behind his emotionless demeanour, but what if he's hiding something dangerous? Even violent?

I shake these thoughts out of my head. I've been reading too much fiction. Any minute now I'm gonna start thinking that Wolf's secretly a dragon or something.

"I get why you don't want to go to Thorne's party," I say, changing the subject, "honestly if I didn't owe that guy I wouldn't be going either. But I would still really like you to come. Mostly so I'll have at least one person to talk to who isn't drunk."

Cinder sighs dramatically and studies me out of the corner of one of her brown eyes. I try to make my own copper eyes as pleading as possible.

Finally, she throws her head back and groans. "Fine, I'll go. But I can't promise I won't leave early!"

"Fine by me." I reply, grinning widely.

**A/N: Finally, **_**finally**_** we meet Cinder! And we've got some Kaider dashed through this chapter as well! All in all, I'd say this instalment was a success!**

**Kai's father is sick, but with what? Is it fatal? Or maybe even worse? **

**We've learned a bit about what the other students think of Wolf, as well as why Kai is so determined to befriend him. But now he's realised just how unusual it is for someone who barely speaks to have a load of scars. Will Kai's realisation affect the way he treats Wolf? Will Cinder hate Thorne's party as much as she fears? And how much longer am I going to stall introducing the rest of the Rampion crew? **

**Please review!**


	5. Codes and Crushes

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Cress's POV:

**Codes and Crushes**

I frantically run around my house, searching for all the school supplies scattered haphazardly in pretty much every room. Hey, I like having a change in scenery when I'm doing my homework! And when you take tutoring and extension classes, plus extra credit assignments, that's a lot of changes in scenery.

"Cress, I understand that it helps for you to move to a different room when you're working," My dad sighs as he checks his emails, "but can you at least avoid messing up my work when your tearing up the house trying to find everything?"

I pause in my digging through the mess of papers scattered on the dining room table to process the stern look Dad's giving me.

"Sorry Dad," I mumble, face flushed with embarrassment. He nods and tugs a single sheet of paper out from the pile. Just one glance at the neat lines of ones and zeroes marching across it is enough to make me grin with relief and delight. My Computer Science project!

I take it eagerly and hug my dad as tightly as I possibly can.

"Cress," He wheezes, "I can't breathe!"

"Sorry Dad." I say again.

He dramatically gasps for air as I let him go and I giggle. Dad can be quite the comedian when he wants to be.

I give a passing glance at the rest of the papers as I stuff my Computer Science project into my backpack. There's everything from electricity bills to patient records and medication prescriptions. Being a combined doctor and psychiatric, Dad's generally very busy, and can't always afford to be organised. I guess that's why he doesn't scold me for my own messy habits.

I pick up the notepad he uses for taking notes on his psychiatric patients. He mentioned last night that he's doing some parent-child counselling and I'm a bit curious as to why they didn't just go to a support group. The first page of notes is enough to tell why. These people have one messed up relationship! Apparently the father is neglectful and lazy and doesn't seem to be capable of holding a steady job, and the daughter is short-tempered and quite frankly hates her father. She actually slapped him during their session! I can't imagine hurting my Dad on purpose! Then again, he's not an alcoholic.

"Cress, would you mind not reading about the personal lives of my patients?"

I hurriedly drop the notebook and stare down at my feet. I know I shouldn't be reading my dad's notes, but it's really hard to ignore them when they're just lying on the dining table!

Dad shuts his computer and starts gathering up the papers.

"The girl attends your school you know." He mentions suddenly, "Her name is Scarlet Benoit. Try talking to her, you could use some new friends."

I nervously play with one of my long strands of hair. I highly doubt that this "Scarlet" will want to be my friend.

"Maybe I can ask her to go easy on you during your sessions?" I ask my dad, "I mean, it seems like both her and her dad are pretty terrible patients."  
"You have no idea." Dad agrees with a roll of his eyes. "I swear, even Kesley's more cooperative! But I think it would be best if I saw the full force of her daddy issues to try and get a better scope on her relationship. The sooner I'm done treating them, the better."

I sit in my usual spot on the bus: the very farthest back corner. Around me my schoolmates gossip and throw paper airplanes and listen to music on their phones. I tug out my laptop and open up my coding app. I start rapidly typing codes, line after line of ones and zeroes that would eventually come to be the building blocks of an artificial intelligence program I've been working on.

I've always felt that technology is my only friend, so, why not make it real? Or as real as it can be when it's made of nothing more than numbers.

I don't have any friends at school. I guess that's what happens when you're awkward and shy and been home-schooled all through primary school. When I first found out I would be attending an actual high school, I was so excited! I envisioned something like the movies, just without all the backstabbing and gossiping. The reality turned out to be much worse. On that first day alone, I was teased mercilessly for my long hair, called "Moony" because my name's Crescent Moon, and had my lunch stolen. Now, I mostly just spend all my time in the computer labs, working on new programmes and coding software.

I hang back as far as possible as the other kids stampede off the bus. I move towards the front doors slowly, almost with dread. When I'm just one step away from pushing them open and going inside, I pause and take a deep breath.

_I'm a beautiful actress and I'm about to walk down the red carpet._

Letting a confident smile spread across my face, I open the doors and stride inside the school.

The fantasy shatters within moments of listening to the gossip of students loitering in the hallways.

I reach for my hair and start winding it around my wrists, trying to distract myself from the stares that follow me as I head to my locker. My hair is very, very long, past my knees even, and has become something of a security blanket for me, something to keep me grounded. Even if it is the source of some serious mockery.

I open my locker and check my hairstyle. I've done it in a French braid today. I like doing my hair in fancy styles (one of the advantages of having extremely long hair: there is a vary wide scope for hair styles. I even did it up like Princess Leia once for Halloween!).

Someone taps me on the shoulder and I let out a rather undignified squeak and jump up a foot in the air. As soon as my feet touch solid ground again, I feel my face flame with embarrassment. Come on Cress, quit being so jumpy!

I turn to see who had just given me a heart attack and find myself looking at a stunning girl with long curly red hair.

"Sorry I scared you." she says, though it feels less sincere when her mouth keeps trying to twitch into a smile. "I was wondering if you could tell me where room 52 is? I've got to get there in, like, ten minutes and the last thing I need is a detention on my first week of school."

"Oh, you're new?" I try for a grin as I speak, though I'm pretty sure it comes out as more of a grimace. "Room 52 is with the science labs. Just head up to the second floor then turn right at the English classrooms."

"Thanks." The girl flashes a grin at me and sticks her hand out to shake. "I'm Scarlet by the way. Scarlet Benoit."

I take her hand shyly. I'm not used to people actually being… social with me.

"Crescent Moon Erland. Um, but you can just call me Cress."

Scarlet's eyebrows shoot up as I introduce myself. Great, here comes the teasing.

"Erland huh? That's my therapist's name."

Oh right… Dad said his patient was named Scarlet.

I feel my smile become just a bit more natural, even if it's mostly from relief. "Yeah, he's my father."  
"I see he's been complaining about Dad and I."

I have no idea what to say to that. Dad has been a bit of a grouch about his two newest patients. I open and close my mouth, unsure whether to defend him or confirm what Scarlet just said.

Scarlet chuckles and pats me lightly on the shoulder. "Relax, it's totally fine. Dear old Dad and I are pretty terrible patients, and he's told us so to our faces. Apparently, we give him whining rights. Don't ask."

I giggle at this. Dad's often complained about how Dr Pine is the only one who gets to bemoan his bad luck with patients. I'm surprised he didn't brag about his newfound privilege this morning.

"Helloooo Scarlet."

The voice comes from behind me. Once again, I squeal and jump, though my face feels even warmer this time since I actually recognise the voice. Of all the people who had to see my "startled cat" reaction…

I turn around and look up at his sky-blue eyes, his expertly tousled brown hair and easily confident smirk. His shoulders are broad, his build fit and strong. I'm willing to bet I could've drawn a perfect picture of him with my eyes closed, I've seen that perfect face so many times (if not always in the real world). Carswell Thorne: trouble-maker, thrower of epic parties and my crush since I first walked into English class.

While I'm struggling to remember how to breathe, Scarlet rolls her eyes at him.

"And hello idiot."

Thorne chuckles and winks at her. Meanwhile, I'm busy trying to wish myself invisible so Thorne won't see my face, which I'm ninety-percent sure has turned an embarrassing shade of tomato red. Ugh, why did he have to be so perfect?

His blue eyes flit over to me. I expect them to just pass right on over me. After all, that's what they do every other time. Instead, Thorne grins down at me, flashing the most perfect pearly-white teeth I've ever seen.

"I see you've met the school's own master-hacker." Thorne says to Scarlet. "Cress here could probably break into the FBI database if she wanted to. Good thing she's also got a perfect little heart of gold, else we'd probably be stooped in nuclear war right now."

I feel my eyes go impossibly wide. Thorne knows that I'm good with computers? He thinks I have a perfect golden heart? He knows my name?

My mind is still swimming with these revelations when Thorne speaks again. "I'm having a party this weekend. Can I count on you two lovelies coming? There'll be pizza!"

My heart's pounding so fast I swear that it would just sound like a steady hum if anyone bothered to check. Did Thorne just call me lovely?

Scarlet shrugs. "Sure, why not."

Thorne looks at me expectantly.

Half a second spent gazing into those beautiful blue orbs and I'm a goner.

"Of course!"

**A/N: Oh dear, sweet Cress… what have you just gotten into?**

**So here's chapter 4! I really struggled to come up with a name for this one since it didn't really have as much of a recurring theme or point of focus like the others, but I think that the name I eventually settled on was pretty fitting. **

**What did ya'll think of Cress (or should I say Cresswell) in this chappie? I enjoyed writing Cress's attraction for Thorne and Thorne's semi-attraction for Cress (please note: just because it's only a semi-attraction now doesn't mean it won't grow to be more in the future ;) )**

**And for all of you who are wondering why I'm bringing up Thorne's party so much, it's because it is actually pretty important to this story. Feel free to guess why, 'cus I'm not telling! (I'm evil that way)**

**Please review!**


	6. A Thorne Party

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Thorne's POV:

**A Thorne Party**

Man, this place is _crowded_. Then again, I doubt anyone in school would choose to miss a party hosted by the great Carswell Thorne (thanks Mom and Dad for that stupid first name).

Pretty much every square inch of the Thorne mansion is occupied by kids from school, some of them I don't even know! But hey, the more the merrier right?

I've converted the living room into a prom-worthy dance floor, complete with a disco ball, subwoofers taller than me and a snacks table. The two theatre rooms have become a video games room and a movie room (both with popcorn machines) and the pool's also open for business. Or, it was. Now it's just way too crowded for anyone else to go in a have a dip.

Right now, I'm dancing with Darla, a hot girl with long legs and shiny raven hair. I'm thinking about asking her out later tonight, but it depends on whether I find a chick who's even hotter. Miko's a pretty good candidate. Now if only I could get her away from Dataran…

I break away from Darla when the song ends, but not before shooting her a grin and a wink. Can't have her giving up on me just yet, can I?

I look around the room for another girl to dance with. Maybe that French _mademoiselle, _Scarlet? Instead, I spy a figure in a grey hoodie standing in the corner with his head ducked and his hands shoved in his pockets.

I shake my head in amusement and walk over to him.

"You know, for one of the most popular guys in school you're really antisocial."

Kai shrugs and tugs his hood further over his head. "You know parties aren't my thing Thorne."

"True," I reply, grabbing his elbow, "but you're at a party now, meaning you have to take part and at least try to have fun."

Ignoring Kai's protests, I drag him onto the crowded dance floor. Kai's a good guy and all, but he really needs to live a little sometimes. If it weren't for me, he'd probably be at home with his nose stuck in some musty old history book. He should be singing my praises right now!

"Hey Pearl!" I call to the brunette chatting with Jake. "Kai needs a dancing partner. You up for it?"

Pearl squeals and immediately rushes over, grabbing Kai's hand and pulling him into a dance. I meet his vengeful glare with a mouthed "you're welcome". Someone's gotta make sure he actually has fun tonight.

"Maybe you should avoid asking Kai to do your homework for a while. Pretty sure he'd purposely fail you."

I grin and turn to face the girl who had spoken. "Well if it ain't my favourite mechanic! If I'd known you'd be here, I wouldn't have just stuck Kai with Pearl!"

Cinder rolls her eyes. "Yeah right."

"Okay, you got me. But at least now that leaves you with the even better prize: me." I grin and throw my arm around her shoulders.

"I think the word your searching for is "punishment"." Cinder retorts, shoving my arm away.

"Please. As if dancing with a fine specimen such as myself could ever be a punishment."

"Did you just call yourself a science experiment? No wonder you have about the same number of brain cells as a toddler!"

"A toddler could never be as charming as me."

"But you make up for it by being twice as needy."

This kind of talk is pretty typical of me and Cinder. I flirt with her, she shoots me down. When we first met, I considered her for a girlfriend. She's a pretty girl. Maybe not the pretti_est_ but pretty enough. That consideration lasted about thirty seconds before I decided she'd make a much better normal friend, and that's all we'll ever be: friends. Good friends, but still just friends. Besides, Kai has had a hopeless crush on her since he pretty much first laid eyes on her and I have a rule where I don't date my friends' crushes (even if they want to date me).

Our conversation is interrupted by Iko, a hyper fangirl and Cinder's best friend. Don't ask me why those two are besties; Cinder is an introverted mechanic whose idea of dressing up is wearing a clean T-shirt and jeans without holes in them, whereas Iko is a gossipy extrovert who enjoys shopping and reading fashion magazines. But then again, Cinder and I aren't exactly two sides of the same coin either, same goes for me and Kai. Friendships are weird.

"Cinder, come on, you promised to be my wing-girl tonight! I'm thinking of asking Dataran out."

Iko punctuates her plea by forcefully tugging on Cinder's elbow. I reach out and grab her free one before she can get dragged away. "Sorry Iko, Miko beat you to it." I shake my head in mock sympathy as I break the news.

"Oh my gosh, that's amazing! They're going to be so cute together!" Iko squeals with delight and let's go of Cinder's arm. "They need a cute ship name! How about Diko? Or Datiko?"

"How about Somebody Get Me a Barf Bag?" Cinder grumbles wrenching her arm out of my hand. I'm too busy chuckling to notice (or care). That's Iko all right: fawning over a boy one minute and then celebrating his relationship with another girl the next. Well, so long as the girl meets her approval.

Iko grabs hold of Cinder's arm again and starts dragging her away, spouting off ship names for Dataran and Miko. Eh, could be worse. I remember what she was like when I told her about Kai's crush on Cinder. It took a full hour to convince her to not tell Cinder about it so she won't freak. Cinder is definitely not the relationship type. I actually doubt she's ever been kissed! And she's seventeen! Come on, that's just sad.

But now that Kai, Cinder and Iko are all preoccupied with other matters, I'm bored again. Seriously, where's a hot girl when you need one?

I look around the dance floor, hoping to catch sight of a new dance partner. My lips curl into a triumphant smirk when I catch sight of a familiar red hoodie. Finally, a pretty lady!

I saunter over to her and flash my most award-winning smile. Scarlet rolls her eyes in response. "What do you want?"

"Oh, I just thought I'd be a good host and offer you a dance, you know, seeing as this is your first party in Thorne manor."

"Hard pass."

I shrug. "You're loss."

Just then, Lil' Red Riding Hood starts blasting out of the subwoofers and I smirk. It's too good a chance to pass up.

"I wish I could say that really is the Big Bad Wolf singing your praises, but he opted out of this party. Maybe you should give Grandma a call to make sure he hasn't eaten her already."

It's probably my imagination, but I swear Scarlet winces at the mention of a grandma. I pretend not to notice as I continue. "It's kinda weird when you think about it. Wolves are supposed to be social animals, but Wolf is pretty much the ultimate antisocial teen."

"What caused that nickname anyway?" Scarlet asks, "I mean, he's probably the most un-wolf-like person I've ever met!"

"Oh, that's just because he has a wolf tattoo."

Whatever Scarlet was expecting, it wasn't that. "A wolf tattoo."

"Yep. And since no one knows his actual name, everyone just calls him Wolf."

Scarlet frowns and opens her mouth, probably to ask why no one knows Wolf's real name, when a small voice behind her says, "Hi Scarlet."

Scarlet turns around to see who spoke and I step to the side so I can see past her. The first thing I notice is the person's hair: blonde, and insanely long with small plaits woven into it. The second thing I notice are her big blue eyes, which are wide with fear and uncertainty.

I grin and offer her a small wave. "Hey Cress! Glad you could make it!"

Cress pulls some of her hair around her face and won't meet my eyes.

I don't know that much about Cress, just that she's good at hacking and has hair like Rapunzel. She's cute, not the cutest girl I've seen but still cute. She has a sweet, heart-shaped face and a smattering of freckles across her nose, and her eyes are a very pretty pastel blue. She's also short. Like _really_ short. Barely up to my chest. And, as a rule, small things are adorable.

Scarlet glares at me, looking oddly threatening. Can't imagine why.

"So Cress," I say, trying to be friendly, "got a dance partner for tonight? Cus' I'm currently available."

It's hard to see through the curtain of hair, but I swear Cress is blushing.

"I-I'm not used to dancing with a partner." She stutters.

"Aw, don't be like that!" I reach out and hook my arm around hers. She squeaks in surprise as I bring her onto the dance floor. As far as I know, this is the first Thorne party Cress has ever attended. What I said to Scarlet earlier about being a good host was just me flirting with her, but Cress seems just so downright terrified to be here, I figure I should help her loosen up.

But just as we start to dance, the weirdest thing happens. A long, eerie howl cuts through the noise of the partiers and the subwoofers. And I really do mean "cuts". It's not louder than the music or laughter, but the sound is still crystal clear.

A loud crash comes from the entrance hall. Letting go of Cress, I walk out of the living room, moving slowly and quietly on instinct. No one is speaking now. It suddenly seems compulsory to make as little noise as possible.

I peer at the double doors on the other end of the hall. There's another crash and they shake on their hinges.

I turn to address the crowd inside the living room. "Someone's trying to break in."

I ignore the scared gasps that follow my statement and go back to staring at the doors, waiting for the next crash. When it comes, the doors are blown off their hinges and a huge, dark form tumbles inside with them.

The thing stands, revealing that it has four legs, each with huge paws tipped with claws like knives. Thick fur covers its giant body, and it holds its bushy tail high, wagging it vigorously. I try to keep myself calm, tell myself that means its happy. But looking at those giant teeth and evil amber eyes, I can't help but think that it's just happy to eat me.

**A/N: Cliff-hanger! *Dodges tomatoes***

**I've got two fun-facts to share with you guys with this instalment! **

**#1: Wolf's real name is actually relatively common among Ashkenazi Jews, particularly those living in Israel.**

**#2: A dog wagging its tail doesn't necessarily mean its happy, just willing to interact, and not necessarily in a friendly manner. Which is why the "creature" in this chapter is holding its tail high as it wags it, since that tends to mean the dog is intently focused on something, like hunting, and can mean aggressive action (You're welcome all you dog-owners reading this!).**

**Now we know what Thorne thinks of Cress! Come on, let's face it guys: Cress is just such an adorable little cupcake!**

**Will any of the party guests survive this sudden monster invasion? Where did the monsters come from anyway? Why are they breaking into parties?**

**Please review!**


	7. Hunted

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Scarlet's POV:

**Hunted**

Well, it's official. This night has _sucked_.

First, I got held back by my Dad from going to the party because he wanted me to cook him dinner. _Cook him dinner._ Can you believe this man? It was satisfying to see him gasp in pain from the bucket loads of hot sauce I'd put in the soup, but it was seriously annoying that I had to show up to the party an hour late. Then, I had to deal with Captain Cocky's flirting, with both me and Cress. I swear, if he goes ahead and breaks her heart, I will break his nose. And now a bunch of hungry wild animals have broken into the house! Honestly, what could I have possibly done to get this much karma?

The other party guests are in full-blown panic mode, screaming and shoving each other to the floor in their rush to get away. Not that I can blame them when freakishly huge wolves are running all over the house.

Their size isn't the only odd thing about the wolves though. I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure there's no such thing as a blond wolf. But I'm looking at one right now, slavering ad growling at the sight of all the yummy human teenagers it wants to have for dinner. I'm also pretty sure that wolves can't have blue eyes, at least not adult ones. Yet the hungry eyes of the black-furred wolf are a very striking ice blue. Maybe these things are hybrids or something?

But I have more important things to worry about than weird fur and eye colours, such as living to see tomorrow morning.

I observe the panic from the top of a subwoofer. Despite the fact that the animals are literally drooling at the sight of all the tasty living food in front of them, they don't seem too interested in actually _eating_ them. Whenever a wolf happens to bring down one of the partiers, it just gives them a long sniff before leaving them in search of other prey, almost like they're looking for something specific. Well, whatever they're looking for, I hope they don't find it.

Sadly, the hope turns out to be in vain.

A giant wolf with bright ginger fur grips Cress's long hair in its teeth. She screams, though I can't tell if it's in fear or pain, and the wolf starts sniffing her. All the blood drains away from my face as a triumphant light enters its grey eyes. It's going to eat Cress.

Well not if I have anything to say about it.

Grandmère has always been a little… odd. One particular example was when she gave me a gun for my eleventh birthday with the words "You just never know when a stranger will want to take you somewhere you don't mean to go". I had been a little disappointed at the time, but now I hardly go anywhere without it. It had been a bit of a hassle to bring it to the Commonwealth, but it was definitely worth it, especially now that I'm at a party under attack by giant wolves.

I tug the pistol out of my waistband and take aim at the wolf with a hold on Cress. I'm not aiming for a fatal shot, just something to drag its attention away from her (which should be easy. That thing is bigger than me! It should be able to take a bullet wound).

I pull the trigger and the gun goes off with a loud bang. The wolf howls in pain, releasing Cress who immediately takes off as fast as her short legs can carry her.

I allow myself a satisfied smile as blood quickly begins to ooze from the bullet wound and down the wolf's side, turning its fur dark and sticky. Hopefully I didn't hit anything important. I don't really know that much about wolf anatomy.

The wolf swivels its head around to look at the wound, eyes wide and blinking, as if it's surprised. Unfortunately, the shock doesn't last long and it quickly starts scanning the room, eyes narrowed and glinting with murderous fury. When it spies my gun, its lips peel back in a snarl. Okay, so somehow this thing knows that guns give bullet wounds. Damn it.

Roaring with rage and vengeance, the wolf charges at me. It slams into my subwoofer hard enough to make it topple. Yelping with fear, I jump off just before the speaker can hit the ground and start running for my life.

I tear out the room and through the smashed front doors, the wolf's heavy footsteps right behind me. No way can I outrun this thing! It's literally built for running! I've gotta slow it down.

Without tearing my gaze from the front lawn ahead of me, I point my gun behind me and start firing random shots, hoping that a few of them would hit the wolf's legs or something. The beast yelps a few times with pain and I think it's starting to slow down. But I'm not taking any chances, so I keep running full tilt. By the time I reach the front gate, my gun starts making that fateful clicking sound. Out of ammo.

I curse and tuck the now useless weapon back into my waistband. Now how am I going to distract this thing? It seems to have fallen a bit behind me now, so I guess that's something. Please, please, please let me have crippled it.

I take a random turn and start running down the rows of mansions and villas that make up Thorne's neighbourhood, cursing its lack of hiding places. Where's an alleyway when you need one?

I narrow my eyes at the fork in the road at the end of the neighbourhood. Hopefully there will be some hiding places around it. Almost there… almost there…

I start to hear the wolf's thundering footsteps again and pray that it's just my fear-influenced imagination talking. I glance behind me just to be sure and… crap, it's the real thing, ginger fur and all.

Unfortunately, that's not the end to my bad luck. I run into something solid and big, stopping my progress altogether. The thing grunts with surprise as I stumble back. Okay, so it's a person.

As soon as I regain my footing, I glare at them in frustration.

Their bright green eyes blink down at me in surprise. "Scarlet? What are you-"

Whatever Wolf's about to say is cut off by a furious roar.

I turn back to look at the wolf, just as it shoves itself off the ground and into the air. Somehow, I manage to scramble out of the way as it pounces. Relief spreads through my chest. I get to live a little longer!

But the relief quickly twists into horror. Because the beast has found itself a new target. A scream tears itself from my throat as its teeth flash for Wolf's neck.

**A/N: Wow, you guys must really hate me. Two cliff-hangers in a row! I really am evil!**

**So Scarlet still has her gun in this story which lands her in the revenge box for a giant wolf. What's up with that anyway? Why are the wolves gigantic with weird fur and eyes? And what were they looking for at the party? Will Wolf survive to the next chapter? All in good time… and by "good time", I mean next week. Please review!**

**P.S: I've got exams coming up, so if my updates start slowing down all of a sudden, it's not because I've given up on this story, so don't you guys give up on it either you hear me?**


	8. Battle Joy

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Wolf's POV:

**Battle Joy**

My room is quiet except for the scratching of pencil on paper as I finish off my Algebra homework. It's not that hard, just practice stuff really. I should be done in about five minutes. Not sure what I'll do then. I have no other homework assignments, and I don't really play video games or musical instruments or anything like that, and I've read all my books at least three times each (though, to be fair, I don't have many books). Maybe I'll just grab some early dinner and go to bed. The police shouldn't mind. It's not the first time I've done this.

There's a quiet, almost hesitant knock on my door. I don't respond to it, just polish off the last problem and start shoving my school stuff to one side.

I hear the door creak as it opens and the thump of footsteps as the visitor enters the room. I raise my gaze to see who it is. Chief.

He looks a bit awkward, standing there. I cock my head to one side. This is new. Chief always looks right at home everywhere.

"See you're doing your homework." He mumbles, nodding at the disorganised pile of textbooks and papers on my desk.

I nod.

"Good lad."

He doesn't say anything for a bit, just shuffles his feet and glances around the room awkwardly.

"Is there a problem?"

Chief starts, obviously surprised that I actually spoke. What can I say, I'm not good at conversations.

"No, no, nothing's wrong." He chuckles nervously, "I just thought, well, are you sure you want to spend the evening at the police station again?"

I narrow my eyes but say nothing. What's he getting at?

"I mean, I know there's not much to do here exactly and it's pretty easy to get bored, especially when you don't work here as an actual officer."

I still say nothing, though I have to suppress a sigh. I see where this is going…

"You know, I heard that one of your classmates is throwing a party toni-"

"I'm not going."

Chief stops midsentence. He stares at me for a few moments before throwing back his head and groaning. I almost smile. _That _sounds like the chief I know.

"Come on kid! What's it going to take to get you to actually have fun once in a while?"

I shrug. "Parties aren't my idea of fun."

"And staying home and doing homework is?"

"I prefer doing homework to going to parties."

Chief pinches the bridge of his nose, obviously growing more and more exasperated by the minute. "Look, kid, you can't just live your whole life like a lone wolf. You've gotta socialise! Make some friends! Have fun!"

"I already told you, parties aren't fun for me. As for friends, kids at school avoid me for a reason."

"No, you avoid them!"

"True, but they also avoid me."

Chief snorts. "Come on, why on Earth would they avoid you?"

"I'm over six feet tall and covered in scars." I reply dryly.

Chief opens his mouth, considers for a few moments, then closes it again. I guess he's realised that I actually made a good point.

Finally, he sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "Look, can we just admit the real reason you're not going to this thing?"

I say nothing, though I'm tempted to shake my head. No, we can't just admit the real reason I'm not going to this thing!

Chief steps forward and puts both hands on my shoulders. "I know that this kind of stuff is what brings on your… _seizures_."

I flinch.

"But you can't let them take over your life. I know they're painful, I've heard you screaming in agony when you first came to live with us, and Grant and Jace did an excellent job in describing what you were like when they found you. But they're also harmless. They only have so much power over you because you give them that power, and you're the only one who can take it away. You've got to stop being so afraid of them."

I glance away, not meeting Chief's eyes. This isn't the first time I've had this talk. Pretty much all the police at the station have given it to me at some point or another. But they don't understand. Just because I don't scream in pain anymore, or curl up into a shivering, senseless ball doesn't mean the pain is any less bad, it just means I've gotten better at hiding it. And the pain is bad. So, so, bad.

"Look, how about a compromise?" Chief suggests, "You know where this kid lives, right?"

I reluctantly nod. Everyone knows where Thorne lives.

"So why don't you just walk past his house, listen to the sounds of kids having fun, and then decide if you want to go in or not. Sound good?"

I tilt my head to one side, considering. I doubt listening to "the sounds of kids having fun" will do anything to convince me to go to the party, but a walk does sound pretty good, and it'll make Chief happy.

I nod.

I take the longer route to Thorne's place. I'm not in a hurry, and besides, it's a nice night for a walk. The moon is full and the air is pleasantly cool. I take in a deep, satisfied breath. It feels good to be outside, so relaxing and calm and quiet. So nice and quiet.

Sadly, the silence doesn't last. An eerie howl rings through the air, and I tense. Please tell me that wasn't what I thought it was. But that pitch, that way it slices through the air, it can't be anything else. And this might just be my imagination talking, but I think it's coming from Thorne's mansion.

I quicken my pace, feeling suddenly frantic. What are they doing here? How did they even get here?

I walk faster and faster, finally breaking out in a run. That howl wasn't a summoning howl, calling together allies. That's not the reason behind my newfound urgency. It was a hunting howl. And when that howl is near a large group of teenagers… that can't be good.

I'm a few blocks away from Thorne's house now. I've already passed several of my schoolmates screaming and running for their lives, which definitely doesn't bode well. My unease only grows with the introduction of a new sound to the mix: gunfire.

Somehow I manage to run even faster.

I'm almost at Thorne's now. The gunfire has grown more rapid. I try to take this as a good sign. Whoever's firing will probably run out of bullets soon. I just hope I don't see anything on the news tomorrow about a bunch of teenagers shot dead at Thorne Manor. When the gunfire finally stops, I allow myself the tiniest bit of relief. At least no-one else will die from _that_.

I turn the corner onto the lane Thorne lives on and come to an abrupt halt as something slams right into me. I let out a surprised grunt and glance down at whoever barrelled into me like that. A girl with bright red hair glares back at me.

"Scarlet?" I ask, blinking down at her, "What are you-"

There is a roar and the rest of my words die in my throat. There is a giant ginger blur and then something big and heavy slams into me.

I fall to the ground heavily, barely managing to catch the wolf's muzzle before it can sink its fangs in my throat. I let my instincts take over and curl up my legs, delivering a powerful kick to the wolf's stomach.

It makes a sound like a cough and tumbles off me. I hurriedly scramble back to my feet. The worst place you can be in a situation like this is on the ground.

I regain my footing just in time. The wolf is charging at me again. I dodge to the side and grab it by the scruff of its neck as it barrels past. Heaving a grunt, I toss it into a nearby gate. I hope that will be enough to knock it unconscious. It's the only way to get it to stop fighting. Well, that and killing it (which I don't want to do). But the wolf gets right back up, growling with frustration.

It charges again, and again I try to dodge. But it's gotten wise to my agility. I have just enough time to register the wolf's bunched-up muscles before it pounces.

It bites down on my shoulder and I stifle a shout of pain. I can't let it know how bad of an injury it just inflicted. If I can hide my seizures, I can hide this.

And I'm done playing nice.

I grip one of its forelegs and twist viciously. The resounding crack, the wolf's pained whimper, they sound… _great._

I throw it off me and it clumsily gets to its feet. I've taken out one of its legs. It will be easy to beat now. I grin spreads itself across my face in anticipation. Victory is near, and it is _mine._

The wolf charges again. I kick it in the chest and it retaliates by sinking its teeth into my outstretched leg. I grit my teeth against the pain and land a punch between its eyes.

It stumbles back, looking dazed. I can't hide my limp as I approach it. But I barely feel my ripped flesh, or the warm blood soaking through my clothes. Every cell is pulsing with energy and adrenaline. My fingers are curling and uncurling into fists. I'm pretty sure I'm smiling again, and I realise I'm having a seizure as I finally register the feeling of fire burning me up from the inside out, turning my bones to ash and boiling the blood inside my veins. The pain is hungry, vicious. And I welcome it. I allow myself to feel. And what I feel is ravenous, fearsome, _joy._

The wolf bunches up its muscles, ready to pounce again. I don't give it the chance. I pick it up by the scruff again and throw it one more time into the gates. Only this time, I throw it _hard._ And it doesn't get back up.

The battle joy that had burned in my veins only moments ago drains out of me. I'm suddenly so much more aware of my throbbing leg and shoulder and of the lingering pain of the seizure. I slump to my knees and his in pain through my teeth. My leg hadn't liked that.

"Well." Said a shaky voice, "That was disturbing."

I raise my head and blink at Scarlet. I'd forgotten she was here.

She looks pale and her eyes are wide. I feel a wave of nausea when I realise they are wide with horror. Horror at what I just did.

With some struggle, I get to my feet again. I should go. I doubt Scarlet wants to be near me right now (or ever again for that matter).

My walk holds a heavy limp as I start on the way hope. Damn, that's really going to slow my progress.

Scarlet jogs over to stand beside me. "Where are you going?"

"Home."

"And where is your home?"

"In town."

"Yeah, you're definitely going to pass out from blood loss before you reach it."

I stop, realising she's right. The wounds the wolf inflicted are deep and bleeding heavily. The police station isn't exactly close, and my limp isn't going to help matters.

Scarlet sighs and moves so that she's standing on my weak side. She takes my arm and rests it on her shoulders. Wait, is she inviting me to lean on her?

"Come on," she mutters, "my place is only a couple blocks away, and there're bandages there."

"You're… helping me?" I can't help my surprised tone. She just saw me savagely fight against a wolf. How is she not running away in terror right now?

Scarlet rolls her eyes. "Well I can't have you dying when there's something I can do about it can I?"

**A/N: Finally, and end to the cliff-hangers! And we've got some Scarlet-Wolf coming up as well! Who else here is excited for the next chapter?**

**Wolf knows what these wolves are, but we still don't. What are they? And how does Wolf know about them? So many questions that I won't give you the answers to! **

**Please review! **


	9. Blood and Bandages

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Wolf's POV:

**Blood and Bandages**

I try not to lean to heavily on Scarlet as we go to her place. I'm not exactly light, and Scarlet is… well, she doesn't seem weak, but I still don't want her bearing my full weight. Even so, the longer we walk, the more I find myself putting my weight on her. I feel tired and sick, and the world keeps tilting. By the time we finally stop outside a tall apartment building, I'm pretty much using her as a living crutch.

"Home sweet home." Scarlet mutters bitterly as she practically drags me into the lobby. I have enough presence of mind to stumble a few steps of my own so I'm not entirely dead weight.

I blink blearily at the empty reception. I guess whoever usually works there has gone home by now. What time is it? It must be pretty late. The police at the station will be getting worried about me. Or they think I've actually joined Thorne's party. For some reason, I find this insanely funny. A chuckle escapes my lips

Scarlet groans. "Great, you're getting delirious. Figures that's what it takes to get you to laugh."

This only makes me laugh harder.

I feel the brush of Scarlet's hair on my hand as she shakes her head, though my jumbled thoughts can't figure out why she shook it.

We make our way to the elevator, Scarlet stooping under my weight and me sort-of walking. Once we're inside, Scarlet presses a button and the door closes. I shut my eyes as the elevator starts to move, allowing myself a quiet moan. This isn't helping my vertigo.

"Still think you could've made it to town?" I swear, I can _hear_ Scarlet's smirk.

"Won't your dad be home?" I ask instead of answering.

She opens her mouth to answer, but I'm already shaking my head. "Never mind. Stupid question."

Scarlet frowns at me. "How do you know he's not home?"  
I frown as well as I try to gather my wits. Damn it, why does everything have to be so fuzzy?

"I heard you yelling during your session a few days ago." I say finally. Catching her heated glare, I hurry to add, "I wasn't listenin' on purpose! It was just really hard to ignore!"

To my relief, Scarlet calms down a little and she looks almost sheepish. "Right, right, you're in the room next to us aren't you?"

The elevator dings and the door opens. Before carrying me out, Scarlet gives me a look out of the corner of her eye. "Look, can you not mention anything you hear to anyone at school? The last thing I need is everyone knowing about my daddy issues."

"Secret's safe with me."

"That would be a lot more convincing if you weren't delirious from blood loss." Scarlet sighs.

Scarlet's apartment smells like alcohol and fast food. I'm honestly not that surprised. From what I gather, her dad is hardly the responsible type.

With a groan, Scarlet lets me drop onto a greasy couch with seriously weak springs. I watch her as she walks into the adjacent kitchen. She opens one of the cupboards, revealing it to be full of medical supplies, and pulls out a roll of bandages. Then she grabs a washcloth and soaks it in water.

"I'm going to need you to roll up your pant leg so I can dress that leg wound." She calls over to me, not looking up from her task. I oblige, wincing in pain as the fabric peels away from the wound. The tangy smell of blood fills the air and I wrinkle my nose in disgust. My revulsion only grows with the realisation that less than an hour ago I would have delighted in that smell.

Scarlet comes towards me and crouches by my injured leg. I grit my teeth against the sting of the washcloth as she wipes away the blood caking my calf. Once my leg is more-or-less clean, she grabs the bandage roll and starts wrapping it snuggly around the room. I study her as she works. Her movements are sure and confident, her brown eyes narrowed in concentration. A lock of red hair slips into her face. With a growl of frustration, she tugs it back behind her ear.

Scarlet's obviously a fierce girl, that much I already know, but her hands feel achingly gentle as they brush against my skin wrapping them in white cloth. It feels weird after that fight with the wolf, to feel something so tender. But also… kinda nice.

I'm almost disappointed when she gets back to her feet. "I'm going to have to get a new washcloth for that shoulder wound. Maybe a fresh roll of bandages as well. Seriously, how have you not blacked out yet? I lost count of how many layers of bandaging that leg wound needed!"

I shrug.

Scarlet strides back into the kitchen and starts gathering supplies again. "I'm going to have to cut away your sleeve to get at that bite wound. I'm pretty sure that shirt's ruined anyway, and its preferable to having you-" Scarlet's mouth suddenly snaps shut and her face flushes the same shade of red as her hair. Wonder why?

At first, I have no qualms about this. Scarlet's right, my shirt is ruined now. Losing a sleeve won't matter once it's in the garbage. But when I take off the jacket I've been wearing, I freeze. I forgot about my tattoo. It seems to glare up at me as I stare at my now bare arm. Seriously, what was I thinking when I got this thing? All it's done is attract attention and get me a nickname! (though, admittedly, I quite like the nickname. More than my real name at least)

I force myself not to cover it up with my hand. She's going to find out eventually. Might as well get it over with now.

Even so, the ink feels as though it's burning into my skin as Scarlet makes her way back.

Her eyes widen a little at the sight of my bare arms. I flush, feeling vulnerable and exposed.

Shaking of her surprise, Scarlet comes to sit beside me and raises a pair of scissors to my sleeve. There are several jagged holes where the wolf's teeth had sunk into my arm, and the only thing concealing the blood soaking through the fabric is its dark colour. But the fabric can't hide the smell.

I wait for the scissors to slice through what remains of the fabric, but they remain open. I frown and raise my gaze to look at Scarlet's face, opening my mouth to ask if anything was wrong, but pause. Her eyes are wide, and not looking at my shoulder. She's staring at my forearm. At my tattoo.

I tilt my arm away from her gaze, pressing the inked picture into my torso. She blinks off her shock and her face flushes slightly. "Sorry. Though in my defence, it's pretty hard to ignore."

"Don't remind me." I groan.

Scarlet sniggers and finally starts cutting away my sleeve.

As Scarlet wraps the wound in bandages, I can't help but notice that she feels a lot closer to me this time. I don't think she's noticed, not yet at least. All her attention is on my bloody shoulder. Just like with my leg, her touch is as light as a feather. Her red hair has spilled over her own shoulder and is now hanging down my back. Occasionally she brushes a lock of it behind her ear, though it never stays back there long. I breathe in through my nose and get a whiff of her scent. She smells like moist soil and fresh greens and… wait, is that gunpowder?

Before I can puzzle out her smell, Scarlet gets up and heads back into the kitchen to put her supplies away. I glance down at my shoulder, surprised to see that it's already wrapped in bandages. It felt a lot longer last time.

"Why do you have so many medical supplies anyway?" I ask.

"My dad's always getting hurt in some way from getting into drunken fights with the other alcoholic idiots he hangs out with." Scarlet replies with a roll of her big brown eyes.

I should've guessed.

"Mind if I ask you something?" Scarlet asks. "And don't just say "You just did"."

"Wasn't going to."

"Good. Why did you get a tattoo on your arm when you don't want anyone to see it? Couldn't you have just gotten it on your back or something?"

I sigh and glare at the cursed thing. "I honestly don't know what was going through my head when I got this thing. If I can ever afford it, I'll get it removed."

Scarlet doesn't reply to this.

The silence continues for a few moments, with me sitting on the filthy couch and Scarlet leaning on the kitchen counter.

Scarlet's the one to finally break it. "Why do you always act so… empty all the time?"

I cock my head to one side. "What do you mean?"

"From what I can tell, you pretty much never interact with people. But you seem perfectly fine with making conversation with me right now. So, why do you act that way?"

I shrug. "I just don't like socialising."

"You're socialising with me right now!"

I frown thoughtfully. She has a point. Why am I talking to her? I barely know her! Maybe all that lost blood is messing with my brain or something? I've already burst out laughing for no reason.

In the end, the only answer I can provide is another shrug. Scarlet scowls at me but doesn't press the issue. Instead, she asks me a different (and also pretty weird) question. "You're not wearing coloured contacts right now, are you?"

I shake my head. "No, why?"

Scarlet turns her face away, but not before I see the slight blush forming on her freckled cheeks. "Your eyes are just… really bright is all. I was wondering if that was your natural colour."

"My eyes are bright?" I echo uncertainly. Was that a compliment?

"Yes, like… I don't know, like green torches. Or something."

"So you're saying they're weird?"

"No! Well, they're _unique_, definitely."

My shoulders slump and I sigh. Great. Just great. So not only am I tall, scarred, tattooed and muscular, I have freaky eyes. What's a guy gotta do to be just another normal face in the crowd?

"Hey." I turn my head around as Scarlet plops down beside me. "They don't look _bad_ if that's what your worried about."

I give her a slight scowl. "I'm not vain. I just don't like drawing attention to myself. Having "unique" eyes doesn't really help my case."

Scarlet raised an eyebrow and looked me up and down.

"Yes, I hear myself." I sigh.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, they're very nice eyes." She assures me with a grin.

"Your eyes are nice too." I blurt out before I can stop myself.

My ears burn red-hot and turn away, but not before I catch a glimpse of Scarlet's flushed cheeks.

"Sorry." I mumble.

"Why are you apologising for paying a compliment?" Scarlet chuckles, though I think it's a little forced.

I don't reply. Anything that comes to mind now just seems wrong.

Come to think of it, Scarlet does have nice eyes. Very nice eyes actually. They seem almost warm, like a campfire. Which is pretty appropriate I guess, given her red hair. Her fiery, beautiful red hair…

I give myself a little shake. What's wrong with me? I'm turning into Thorne! Falling over myself just because of a pretty face. And Scarlet has a very pretty face. A pretty face that, if all this time spent with her is anything to go by, hides a strong, stubborn, incredibly kind person.

I rub my chest distractedly, feeling a slight warmth inside. I don't think much of it, not at first. But the warmth rises, becoming hotter and hotter. What was just a slightly uncomfortable ember inside my chest grows to a scorching heat, sucking away all my breath and burning at my ribcage. I imaging the bones turning from white to black to grey as they crumble into ash.

I start coughing sporadically, hacking up spit as my lungs scream for air. But I can't breathe. I can't around the pain.

Fingers touch my arm. The touch is light and soft, but they seem to burn into my flesh like red-hot pokers.

"Wolf?" A worried voice speaks. It sends needles piercing through my eardrums. "Are you alright? What's wrong?"

I grit my teeth and shut my eyes tight. This is a seizure. That much I know. But it's not like any of the others. I can't hide the agony of this one. It feels… random. The pain only spearing certain parts of me and leaving the rest alone. Somehow, that just seems to make the pain even worse.

The fingers on my arms move to my back, sending bolts of fiery lightning coursing through my spine. The voice continues to speak, relentless as it tears apart my ears.

In an effort to block it, I clamp my hands over my ears. I jerk my body away from the torturous fingers. I bring my knees up to my chest and hunch over them, desperately gulping down air. Now all I can do is wait for the seizure to pass.

It feels like years before I can breathe normally again. I slowly uncurl my body and remove my hands from my ears, blinking open my eyes.

"Wolf?"

I tense, half-expecting the spoken word to attack my ears like before. But nothing happens.

Cautiously, I turn my head to the source of the word.

Scarlet's face has turned pale. Her eyebrows are creased with worry and concern. She has one hand reached out, hovering mere inches from my arm like she wants to touch me but is afraid of what I'd do.

"Are you alright?" Her voice is soft, gentle. "What was that? Are you sick?"

I look away. "It's nothing."

"It didn't look like nothing. Do you want me to call a doctor?"

"No, I'm fine."

I stand, wincing as my injured leg throbs with complaint. Forgot about the wolf bites. "I'd better get home. They'll be getting worried about me."

Scarlet's already outstretched hand grabs my arm. "You're not going anywhere! You could barely breathe a few moments ago! Plus, you're going to end up reopening that wound if you walk! This apartment has a spare room for guests. You can sleep there for the night."

I force myself not to frown. I'm pretty sure that spending the night at Scarlet's house is a pretty terrible idea. But I can hardly tell her that!

"All my school stuff is at my home." I say instead. "Same goes for all my clothes. I can't exactly head to school tomorrow covering in blood with my shirt and pants all ripped up."

"I kinda doubt you'll be going to school in the first place." Scarlet replies. "Look, I'll wake you up early in the morning so you can head back to your place in time to change and get all your stuff. Right now, you need to rest and give your body time to recover from that fight with the wolf and…" She hesitates. "whatever that was just now. Do you have a phone on you?"

I nod.

"Call your folks and tell them you're staying at a friend's house for the night and that you'll be back in the morning."

Scarlet stands up. "I'll just go make sure the sheets in the guest room are actually clean. Meanwhile, you're going to make that call."

As soon as Scarlet's out of sight, I sigh. That seizure woke me up. I let myself go for a bit, let myself think of Scarlet as more than another face at school. Let myself _like_ her even. But I can't. It wouldn't be fair to her.

But I can't shake the feeling of her hands tending to the gashes on my leg and shoulder. The concern written all over her face after my seizure. I hate it. I hate _myself_. But it's too late. I like her. A lot.

I've got to hide it. I can't let her find out. Because I'm not human. I'm the same as those wolves that attacked the party, the same as the wolf who attacked _me._

I'm a werewolf.

**A/N: AT LAST, we find out what the whole "I'm not human" thing is all about! And we find out about those weird wolves that attacked the party a few chapters ago! And werewolves aren't the only supernatural creature that will be appearing in this story.**

**Let me tell you right now that I'll be putting my own spin on the supernatural creatures included in this story, so it's probably best you forget everything you know about them when they're introduced. I have nothing against their traditional forms, I just made them like this for the purpose of the story (and because I can).**

**Now let's get to the most important thing in this chapter: WOLFLET! FINALLY THE FOUNDATIONS HAVE BEEN LAID OUT FOR WOLFLET! THEY ARE MY #1 PAIRING! (Not that I don't love all of them)**

**How will Wolf deal with his newfound feelings for Scarlet? Will his concerns about his seizures and his species really be enough to ignore them?**

**Please review!**


	10. An Impossible Rebellion

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Cinder's POV:

**An Impossible Rebellion**

It's ten past nine in the morning. Classes will be underway in school right now. I should be sitting in Physics taking notes for the test next week right now, and no doubt tonight I'll be madly copying down the stuff the teacher sent me. But right now, I couldn't care less.

I'm in a living room. It's a nice room, not fancy but comforting in the way only worn, simple places can be. Normally the smell of the many books stuffed in the bookshelves or the natural light pouring into the room from the floor to ceiling window across from the sofas would be enough to relax me. But right now, nothing can slow my pacing on the faded rug spread across the floor.

Iko is sitting on one of the couches with her feet up on the coffee table and her arms splayed out on either side of her. She looks relaxed, apart from the concerned frown on her face. The short old man sitting next to her scowls at me, probably because he's annoyed that I'm tracking dirt all over the place (Iko and I took a short cut through the park to get here. It's not my fault this place is so far away from our homes!)

"Werewolves." I mutter aloud, "There were werewolves at that party last weekend!"

"Yes Selene, you have mentioned this 33 times and counting." The old man says with a roll of his bright blue eyes.

"Don't call me Selene."

"Well it is technically your name." Iko points out.

"I prefer Cinder."

The old man's lips thin with annoyance. "Very well then _Cinder,_ you have mentioned the werewolf attack 33 times and counting."

I stop pacing long enough to shoot him a glare. "Yes, I heard you the first time Erland."

I always make it a point to call Dr Erland by his fake name. I hate being called Selene. Selene feels like someone else, someone refined and ladylike and confident, i.e. not me. Selene may be my name, but I'm not Selene. I am Cinder. Sadly, Dr Erland can't seem to get that through his old, thick skull.

"You shouldn't act so surprised." He says, reaching up to adjust his glasses. "We've seen this coming for years. It's a miracle the attacks didn't start sooner."

"Attacks, plural." Iko grumbles. "I take it that means there will be more?"

Dr Erland nods.

I resume my pacing. "I'm not sure I'd call it an attack. An invasion, definitely, but there were no casualties, or even injuries as far as I know."

For the first time since Iko and I barged into his house, Dr Erland looks properly interested.

"A scare tactic then." Iko says. "But why would a bunch of werewolves be sent to terrify a group of partying teenagers? It's not like anyone important was there. Well, other than Kai." Iko swoons a little as she mentions the mayor's son, pressing her hands to her cheeks and smiling dreamily. I roll my eyes at her antics. Seriously Iko, do you have to swoon over Kai every time he's brought up? Sure, he's handsome, and kind, and smart, and-ugh! Now I'm doing it!

Shaking off any thoughts about Kai, I force myself to look back on the party. Iko does have a point (about why the werewolves would be sent to terrify teenagers, not about Kai). There must have been some other reason that the werewolves showed up. They didn't attack anyone, but I did see them catch up to a few kids. They would just give them a sniff, and then let them go. I hadn't thought much of it at the time (excuse me for being more concerned about living to see morning!) but now that I think about it…

"They were looking for something." I murmur.

Iko's golden eyes widen with fear. "You don't think they were looking for…" Her voice trails off, but she doesn't need to finish her sentence. We all know who she was talking about.

Dr Erland shakes his head. "No, Cinder is still thought to be dead. They can't have been looking for her."

"Well, who else could they have been looking for?" Iko cried out with exasperation.

Dr Erland rubs his forehead. "It's possible… they could have been looking for Lunar refugees."

I curse myself for not considering that sooner. Of course.

Lunars are a group of people who live in a place called Luna. I'd say country, except I'm not entirely sure it is a country. It's not on Earth, at least, not on this one. Which is probably a good thing, since Luna has a lot of problems, but I'll get to that in a bit. On Luna, the nights can last weeks on end, same goes for the days. There are also no humans on Luna, but there are similar creatures. Werewolves are one of them, beings that can switch from looking like a perfectly normal person to gigantic wolves. There are also fairies, who can extend their souls out from their spines like wings. Elves, short, blue eyed creatures with brilliant minds. And finally, vampires. People with venomous fangs who possess the power to make anything and anyone bend to their will. Guess which species rules Luna? Give up? The vampires. And they don't like it when they are disobeyed. And Lunars running away from their dictatorship to live here on Earth? That is the ultimate insubordination.

"This could affect Cress." Dr Erland murmurs, though I can't tell if he's speaking to Iko and I or himself. "She's half-elf and living here with me will only make her scent stronger. I'll need to keep an eye on her to make sure she stays safe."

"You know…" I begin, "there is another way to make sure she stays safe…"

Dr Erland gives me a tired look. "Cinder, we've had this conversation before. Many times!"

"But the stakes are higher this time! Your daughter's life is at stake, as well as any other Lunar refugee out there! If we can just get the werewolves on our side-"

"That doesn't change the fact that the werewolves' current alpha is under the queen's control!"

"So let's overthrow the alpha!" Iko cries out.

"What, you want to ask some random werewolf to risk their life trying to gain a role they most likely won't want? Come on, there's a reason the alpha is still in power."

"Yeah," I mutter, "a reason in the shape of a murderous power-hungry vampire."

Dr Erland sighs and massages his forehead in frustration. "Look, I agree with you that we are in need of allies, but you are too fixated on the werewolves."

"They are the ones who've suffered the most under the queen!" I shout back, "They're also the most physically strong and are naturally gifted in fighting! They would be the perfect allies!"

"Which is why the queen made sure to secure an alliance with them as soon as possible."

Iko sits up in her armchair. "Well… we can always use humans."

Dr Erland opens his mouth to answer, but I beat him to it. "No, it is vital that the humans remain unaware of the existence of Luna." I mimic Dr Erland's voice as I speak, ignoring the sharp glare that gets sent my way. I've heard his "keep the humans ignorant" speech many, many times. I know it by heart, even the extended version when he goes on a long tirade about the witch hunts and something called "the beast of Gévaudan".

I take a step toward the old man and fold my arms. "We can't wait any longer. Now that Levana has started sending werewolves to attack, that means she's perfected the method of moving between worlds! We have to stage the rebellion as soon as possible!"

Dr Erland sighs. His blue eyes, usually bright, now seem dull with exhaustion. "I wish we could Selene, really, I do. But we don't have enough allies, enough resources. We don't even have a plan! I want to overthrow Levana just as much as you do, but right now, any rebellion is doomed to fail. I'm sorry."

I turn away, shoulders slumping in defeat. He's right, Dr Erland usually is. But that doesn't mean I have to like it.

Levana Blackburn is the current queen of Luna. All the other monarchs' biggest concerns were fancy clothes and sleeping with anything that moved. But not Levana. Levana is cold, calculating, sly, and power hungry. It is thought that she murdered her sister and predecessor, Channary, as well as her niece, the heir to the Lunar throne. It is also thought that she orchestrated the death of her own husband in a fit of rage. And, if rumours are to be believed, she scarred her own stepdaughter when the girl was only thirteen for the simple crime of being more beautiful than her.

Levana is ruthless, selfish, and merciless. She has no compassion for her underlings and lets them live in utterly horrific conditions. No wonder some have risked sneaking into elvin research facilities to sneak away to this world, even though living here without proper protection would leave any Lunar incredibly ill, same goes for an Earthen living in Luna.

Nothing and no-one can take her down. Except her niece, the true queen of Luna and daughter to Channary Blackburn. If only she wasn't dead… oh wait! She isn't dead! She's alive! How do I know? Because I'm her. I am Selene Channary Jannali Blackburn (and yes, I do struggle to call myself that without rolling my eyes. Mom had a weird idea of what makes a respectable name). It is up to me to usurp Levana and take my place as the ruler of Luna. Only problem is, right now, the only way to do that is with an all-out rebellion. A rebellion that has been, is, and will probably continue to be, impossible.

**A/N: SO SORRY I'M LATE! THE DREADED TIME OF NON-STOP STUDY IS UPON ME!**

**We've got a bit of insight into those supernatural species I mentioned, and we finally hear from Cinder! I know I haven't been giving her much spotlight, but as you can see, her role in this story is huge! **

**How will Cinder overthrow Levana? Is she really as starved for allies as she thinks? And why is there hardly any Kaider in this chapter?**

**Please review!**


	11. The Mission

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Jacin's POV:

**The Mission**

The taps of my shoes against the polished marble sounds almost deafening in the quiet hall. I keep my expression as cold and blank as the stone walls around me. I learned a long time ago that you can't let anyone know what you're thinking here, what you're _feeling_. No one can know what you're afraid of, what you care about, what you admire. It can all be used against you, and it will be.

I come up to a set of great double doors. The wood is strong and polished. If I didn't know where the wood had come from, I'd think them beautiful. But I do know, so I don't.

I knock on the doors, not banging, but not unnoticeable.

"Enter."

I let my disguise slip, just for a moment, as a disgusted frown flashes across my face. That voice. I hate it, almost as much as I hate who it belongs too.

I push open the doors and close them behind me, not daring to tear my eyes away from the woman on the other side of the room.

She is sitting on a throne carved from some sort of black material. Obsidian? Onyx? Regolith? I don't know, and to be honest I don't really care. The throne doesn't matter, all that matters is who's sitting in it. And, sadly, who's sitting in it is pretty much evil, though you wouldn't guess it by looking at her. She has ivory skin and blood-red lips. Her cold, sharp eyes are glittering onyx and her auburn curls spill elegantly over her shoulders. At least, that's what she wants people to think she looks like.

A stride forward until I'm about ten feet from the woman and stoop into a low bow. "Your majesty." I murmur respectfully. I'd rather call her Monster, but then I'd be dead before I could smirk at myself.

"Sir Jacin Clay." The woman greets me back. Her voice is cold and imperious. "I have a task for you."

"I live to serve my queen."

The queen nods with satisfaction. She makes a gesture with one perfectly smooth hand and someone steps out from behind her throne.

It takes all of my willpower not to smile.

The person behind her throne was Jerrico Solis, the captain of the royal guard and a pompous jerk. He's always boasting about his fighting prowess and how he's never lost a battle since he was appointed captain. Well, judging from the looks of him, he won't be able brag about that again.

His left arm is tied in a sling, and there's a large blooming bruise on his forehead. And if the stiff way he's holding himself right now is anything to go by, then those aren't his only injuries.

"Captain Solis was attempting to apprehend a rogue werewolf in the Earth dimension several days ago when he sustained his injuries." The queen explains. I'm tempted to ask who it was so I can personally thank them.

"He has spent his time since then attempting to identify the werewolf," she continues, "but has had no luck. The werewolf in question has an unfamiliar scent and human appearance."

"What of his wolf appearance?" I ask.

"Captain Solis didn't get the chance to see it."

Wait, Jerrico lost to a werewolf _while it was in human form?_ If he was in the Earth dimension, he would've been in his wolf form. He should have been able to win! Our wolf forms are stronger than our human forms after all! And he still lost? Wow, his pride must be hurting _bad._

I hide my satisfaction behind an expressionless mask as I ask the queen, "And how does this concern me your highness?"

"I want you to go to the Earth dimension and find this werewolf." The queen declares. "He seems strong and would likely be a good addition to my guard."

I glance at Jerrico and notice him clenching his jaw. Huh, I almost want to follow this order. Almost.

"Who else will be going on this mission my queen?"

"No one, you will be going alone." A satisfied smile plays across her lips. "The patrol unit sent a few nights ago caused quite a stir. It would be best for us to draw a little less attention to ourselves for the time being. For this same reason, you are not to revert to wolf form during your time on Earth."

I bow, a stiff, formal movement. "As you wish my queen. How long do I have to prepare?"

"Fifteen minutes. I want you to be ready to go to Earth in, at most, thirty. You may go."

I bow again and march out of the throne room. It takes conscious effort not to slam the door behind me.

Of course, _of course_ she'd give _me_ this mission! Not any of the other, more experienced guards, not any of the stronger ones, _me._ Not to mention the fact that I'll probably have to abduct this werewolf that beat the snot out of Jerrico. The queen is right about one thing, this werewolf seems to be very strong. I'm no slouch when it comes to fighting, but I don't think I can beat that! But that's not the real reason this mission angers me so much. The real reason is that, while I'm away on Earth, I won't be able to carry out the purpose that prompted me to become a guard in the first place.

That same purpose is the reason that, instead of going to the research labs to pick up Earth clothing and be outfitted with bioelectrical protection devices, I'm heading upstairs to visit my best (and only) friend since pretty much forever.

I knock quietly on her door. No sooner have my knuckles left the polished wood that it flies open and her face beams up at me.

I do a pretty good job in keeping my face neutral and expressionless, but it's hardest to do it around Winter. She is the nicest person on Luna, and probably nicer than anyone on Earth too. She gives food to the mice that sleep in the cracks of the castle's stone walls, gives candy infused with painkillers to the servants after they have been beaten and sews blankets for the working class of Artemisia using her own two hands. She'd probably do the same for the werewolves living on the outer reaches of Luna if it was possible. Winter is sweet and kind and fun and innocent. And very, very vulnerable.

For one thing, Winter is beautiful. No, beautiful is an understatement. So's gorgeous, and lovely, and pretty. No single word can truly describe Winter's beauty. Her dark, shimmering corkscrew curls spill over her shoulders and perfectly frame her face and long neck. Her smiling lips are as red as rubies and her long lashes flutter over golden brown eyes flecked with slate grey and emerald green. She has a curvy figure and graceful limbs. The only flaw in her otherwise perfect appearance are three scars running down her right cheek like tear tracks, their paleness seemingly glowing against her dark skin. But rather than detract from her beauty, the scars only seem to enhance it somehow. Only problem with being the most beautiful girl in existence, it also puts you in a lot of danger. From lustful men looking for a thrill to jealous women with poisonous hearts (_cough, _Queen Levana, _cough_).

And it's not just paranoia talking here either. Levana was the one who gave Winter her scars in a fit of jealous rage, four years ago when she was thirteen. The worst part is, she forced Winter to hold the knife. I'll never forget seeing her walk out of the audience chamber with blood dripping down her face and onto her dress.

But her beauty is not the only thing putting her in danger. There is also her mind to be worried about. Levana seemed to take some kind of sick pleasure in fiddling around with Winter's mind when she was young, making her see things that weren't there, terrifying things. After Winter's father died, Levana didn't even need to plant the hallucinations in her mind, it conjured them up on its own, driving Winter insane. Too many times she's almost killed herself because of the hallucinations, too many times she's almost died because of Levana's meddling. The worst part is, Levana promised Winter's father she'd take care of her, that she'd love her, as if she was Winter's real mother and not just her stepmother. I'm surprised he couldn't tell that she was lying through her teeth.

I've spent my whole life protecting Winter, it's the main reason I became a guard, but how can I protect her when I'm on Earth?

Winter throws her arms around my torso, hugging me tightly. "Jacin! You came to visit! You don't do it as often anymore."

"I visit you every day Princess." I reply dryly even as I return the hug.

Winter pulls away first, her beautiful caramel eyes shining with pent up excitement. "Come on! I'm making dolls for that maid who gave birth last week. What was her name again?"

I shrug. I don't care about the servants as much as Winter does.

"I'll have to ask her then. Anyway I was thinking you could paint their faces while I finish up with their clothes."

I feel the corner of my mouth twitch. Winter was always trying to get me involved in her little charity projects. I'm almost regretful as I shake my head. "I can't stay long Winter. Levana's sent me to Earth on a mission."

Winter's bright smile crumbles. "Oh. How long will you be gone?"

"However long it takes to finish the mission."

Winter's smile returns, though it is shaky and sad. "Well, can you try to finish it quickly? A princess needs her guard."

"Of course I will Trouble." I reply.

Winter's smile becomes a bit more natural at the use of the nickname.

"You'd better go." She says with a small shove to my shoulder. "You don't want to keep Levana waiting."

"Be safe Winter." I tell her as I turn to leave.

"Of course my guard."

**A/N: Our first chapter in Luna! Jacin's sarcasm is surprisingly fun to write!**

**Levana wants Jacin to bring her the werewolf who beat up Jerrico (gee, I wonder who that could be?). Will he succeed, or will he get beat up himself? **

**Please review!**


	12. The Familiar Stranger

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Wolf's POV:

**The Familiar Stranger**

"Look, I just want to go out for a walk."

"The last time you went out for a walk at night, you came back the next morning with your leg and shoulder torn open!"

I sigh with exasperation. The police at the station had completely lost it when I arrived back at the station a few days ago with blood-soaked bandages wrapped around my leg and shoulder and my clothes all torn up. They'd forbidden me from going to school that day and took me to a hospital to get my injuries looked at.

Several days later, my wounds are healing well and my limp is far less pronounced. But that hasn't stopped the police from fussing over me.

"I'll only be out for an hour or so, I just want some fresh air!" I say trying not to let my irritation show.

"And a gravestone apparently." Grant grumbled.

I roll my eyes.

The door to the station swings open and I perk up with interest. It's not often the officers on night duty come back early. It's only happened once during my time here, and I'm not sure if that counts since it was when they found me and brought me to the station.

"We found this kid just wandering around." Jane says with a gesture to someone behind her. "Thought it would be a good idea to bring him here, you know, just in case he's a runaway or something."

"We should rename this place "Commonwealth Home for Lost Boys"." Officer David called out jokingly. "At this rate, we're going to have a whole army of them running around here!"

The other police chuckled, but I'm not paying attention. I've just picked up the scent of whoever Jane found. My muscles tense, ready for a fight. After my last encounter with a werewolf, I'm being on my guard.

"What's all this about lost boys?" The chief asks, coming into the room. Jane steps aside and I finally get a good view of the werewolf. He's about my age, though a bit shorter and his muscles are a lot less pronounced than mine. He has long white-blond hair tied back in a ponytail and sharp ice-blue eyes. My face pulls into a slight frown when I see he's wearing normal clothing, a plain grey T-shirt and jeans and worn sneakers. How did he get those? He can't have been here that long, could he?

He's frowning at me too, studying my scarred face intently. I lean away from him slightly. He can probably smell that I'm a werewolf and that's why he's looking at me like that, but still; it's creeping me out!

The chief is oblivious to my discomfort and laughs boisterously at the sight of the other werewolf. "Well, well, well, maybe we should set up an orphanage! That is assuming your parents aren't dead?"

"They're alive." Is the neutral reply.

The chief claps his hands together. "Alright then! Well, why don't you just come into my office? I'll ask you a few questions, make sure you're not doing anything wrong, then send you on your way, okay?"

The werewolf nods and follows the chief out of the room.

I excuse myself to my room and leave as well. I need to think. Why are there werewolves appearing now? I figured out years ago that my homeland isn't exactly on Earth. So why are so many of my kind showing up? Even weirder, none of them seem to be suffering from seizures like me! I always assumed it's because this place isn't where I'm supposed to be, but what if I'm wrong? What if I'd have gotten these seizures anyway, even if I hadn't ended up here? Maybe I'm just weird, even among my own kind. Well, at least I'm used to the feeling by now.

I decide to do some reading to kill some time. I'm not that tired, and I haven't even had dinner yet, so I'll probably put off going to bed till later. Just a few pages in though, there's a knock on my door.

Without waiting for me to say he can enter, the chief comes in, the werewolf following close behind him. "Turns out, this kid does live on Earth!" He jokes, "I've called his parents. They know he's out and he's got permission. Even so, I'll be sending some people to take him home. In the meantime, why don't you boys do some bonding?"

I'm not really in the mood for "bonding" and the other werewolf doesn't seem to be either. But I've lived with the chief long enough to know that arguing is pointless. So I say nothing as he pretty much shoves the werewolf deeper into my room and walks out the door, looking very pleased with himself.

The door shuts, and chief's footsteps fade away into silence, but neither I nor the other werewolf say a word. We frown at each other, him probably because he's wondering what I'm doing here, me because I want to know how he could have lived here long enough to have an address without me noticing at some point. Though, granted, I don't really get out much.

Finally, I pick up my book again. I don't think this guy's in the mood for conversation right now. But (to my slight dismay), as soon as I flip to my page, he speaks.

"Do I know you?"

I glance up at him. "What?"

"Do I know you? You seem familiar."

I put down my book and study him. I guess he _does _seem a bit familiar. The serious lines to his face, the coldness of his eyes. Something about him definitely rings a few bells, but I can't dredge up any memories.

I shrug. "I'm drawing a blank. What's your name?"

"Jacin."

More bells, but still no memories.

I shrug again. "I guess you seem familiar, but I can't place you. Sorry."

"Don't mention it." Jacin replies as he leans against the wall. "I take it you're the one who beat the snot out of Jerrico?"

I blink at him in confusion. "Who?"

"He would've looked like a ginger-furred wolf when you met."

"Oh yeah, that wolf. In my defence, he was trying to kill me."

Jacin frowns. "I doubt that. We're not supposed to kill anyone when we're on Earth."

"Well he seemed very eager to rip my throat out."

A slow smirk spreads across his face, like he's amused. "Well, I'd still like to thank you for that. That man is insufferable."

I have no idea what to say to that. You're welcome?

Jacin's scowl quickly returns, wiping out the amused smirk as though it never existed. "On another note, how did you get to be on Earth?"

I eye him warily before shrugging. "It was an accident."

"Oh yeah?" Jacin asks, clearly not convinced. "And how did this "accident" occur?"

I shrug again. I'm not lying, ending up here _was _a complete accident. But the details are so ludicrous, Jacin will probably just burst out laughing and ask the question again.

"Okay," he groans, "since you don't want to tell the truth, let's try a different question: how did you get past bioelectric sickness?"

Okay, he's officially lost me. "What?"

"Bioelectric sickness. If you really came here by accident, you should be rife with it, but you clearly aren't. So, why?"

I shake my head in bewilderment. "I'm sorry but I don't know what you talking about. I've never heard of… "bioelectric sickness", in my life!"

Jacin raises an eyebrow at me.

I glare at him. "If you're not going to believe anything I say, then what's the point in asking me all these questions?"

"Maybe you should come up with a remotely plausible answer."

I get another flash of deja vù at the sarcastic response. I'm almost positive I know this guy now. But I still can't place him. Maybe I never officially met him, just saw him in passing? Or had a friendly conversation with him or something?

He opens his mouth, probably to interrogate me further, when my door opens and chief walks in. "Alright Jacin, time for you to head home."

**A/N: Wolf and Jacin meet (possibly again) and Jacin's attempts to figure Wolf out are met with failure.**

**Clearly Levana's pulled out all the stops for Jacin's mission: giving him a fake address, phone number, even parents to cover for him! But what is bioelectric sickness? How did Wolf end up on Earth? And when is this story going to have some action?**

**Please review!**


	13. The Other Princess

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Jacin's POV:

**The Other Princess**

So this is an Earthen school, huh?

It sucks.

These people never shut up for one thing. Everywhere I go it's nonstop chatter. Do all Earthens love the sounds of their own voices this much? Stars, how are they not deaf? It's ridiculous! And they also have this weird habit of congregating in large groups that block off the hallways so you have to awkwardly manoeuvre around them to get where you need to go. And if you bump into them, _you're _the one who gets dirty looks! It's not my fault they have no perception of space! Also, this is apparently a "free dress school" so we can wear our own clothes. And some of the stuff these people wear are downright weird. I've been supplied with some simple Earth clothes for the purpose of my mission, but none of them look like this! Painfully bright pink shirts that show your stomach, shoes with lights inside of the soles, watches with screens for doing who knows what, and that's not even the weirdest stuff! The clothing on Luna can be extravagant and freakish, but this is a whole other kind of weird.

I got enrolled into this school just yesterday, as a way of locating the werewolf who took down Jerrico, due to his guess that the werewolf was still young. Of course, I've already found the werewolf. On my very first night on the job no less. And sure, he looks strong, but he doesn't seem all too aggressive. I know I should work on "recruiting" him for the Queen's guard, but I just can't shake the feeling that I know him. I'm not sure from where or when, but I'm positive that I do. And I just want to find out who he is before I ruin his life forever-ahem, sorry-_present him with the honour of joining the Queen's guard._

Ugh, gag me.

I reach my new locker and swing open the metal door. I then start tossing inside my new schoolbooks, not waiting for the clang of them hitting the metal back of the metal cupboard before grabbing another one.

"Hey!"

I immediately whirl around, settling into a fighting stance to deal with this new threat. A teenage guy a bit younger than me stumbles back in shock at my show of hostility.

"Woah, easy there! Just saying hello!"

I grunt but relax my stance and go back to throwing books into my locker. I'm not in Luna anymore. I don't have to be ready for a fight at all times.

The guy sticks out a hand. "I'm Kai. You're new here right? Welcome to my school!"

I stare at his outstretched had coolly but don't shake it. I'm not here to make friends, and I'm not feeling altogether friendly anyway. I pull out another book from my bag and toss it into my locker.

"What did that locker ever do to you?"  
"Look, I'm not sure if you've noticed but I'm ignoring you right now. So feel free to go away."

There's a pause. When Kai speaks again, his voice is dripping with sarcasm. "Well I'm sure you're going to make so many friends here."

"I look forward to it."

Kai huffs and mutters to himself. "And I thought Wolf was hard to talk to."

I look up from my task of throwing stuff into my locker (I've finished anyway so there's not that much point). "There's a kid in this school named Wolf?"

Kai waves a hand nonchalantly. "No, Wolf's just his nickname."

"Well what is his real name?"

Kai opens his mouth to reply. Closes it. Opens it again.

"Tell me when you've finished with your goldfish impression." I say dryly.

He glares at me. "Do you know any other language except rude?"

"Yeah, but I can't be bothered speaking "polite"."

Kai rolls his eyes and I fight the urge to smirk. Despite myself, I'm starting to like this guy, if only because he's just as sarcastic as I am.

"I don't know Wolf's real name, okay? You're going to have to ask him."

"Right, find a guy I've never seen before and ask him his name. Gotcha!"

"You could've just asked what he looks like!" Kai cries in exasperation.  
I roll my eyes. "Fine, what does he look like?"

"Tall, with brown hair and lots of scars. If he's wearing short-sleeves you should be able to see the wolf-tattoo on his arm. Also, he has these really bright green eyes."

I raise my eyebrows and my mouth twitches with the urge to laugh. Wolf. It's a little on the nose, but hey! What keeps your identity hidden…

As the day progresses, I find out that there is one thing about Earthen schools I like: the lessons. Back on Luna, all they teach werewolves are basic literature and maths. If we want to learn anything else, we have to take the initiative and steal some elf textbooks and read those like our lives depend on it. That's what I did at least. Other werewolves just settle for the meagre education the vampires give them and become miners and construction workers, and occasionally guards. My father was a guard, just like me. I didn't want to be a guard though. Heck, I only became one for Winter's sake (and she was not happy about it. She still goes on about how I should have followed my dream and all that other sentimental stuff). Really, what I wanted to do was become a doctor. I read all I could on medicine and biology, in an effort to obtain a position that wasn't even open to my species. Stupid? Maybe. But you can't blame me for trying! So when I found out that this school teaches biology? I actually smiled!

Werewolves are pretty much the lowest of the low on Luna. We get all the jobs that require hard labour, and live in the absolute worst conditions on the outer reaches of Luna. Slightly above us are fairies, who do all the menial jobs like making clothes and working as servants in the big households. Elves are the next level up and, because they are typically geniuses, get all the intellectual jobs like scientists and doctors, hence why I used to wish I was an elf when I was a kid. And, finally, at the very top of the social pyramid, are the vampires, the self-appointed rulers of Luna. And probably the most hated species there.

When my biology class finally rolls around, I actually try hard in it. We're studying ecosystems. True, not exactly helpful in gaining a medical degree, but changes in location can be pretty helpful in the case of certain ailments. I mean, you wouldn't leave someone with frostbite in an arctic wasteland, would you? Or maybe you would. The stars know I've met a couple kids in this dump who are stupid enough to do that.

The only thing keeping me from pretty much drowning the teacher in questions are the other students in the class. Sure, there are the normal teenage morons that are in all my other lessons, but there are also some less… _human_ members.

One is a girl who showed up to the lesson even earlier than I did, with stupidly long hair. Stars, I can only imagine how many times she's gotten tangled up in it during the night. Her scent is weird though, a pretty strong note of elf which explains her height and the blue eyes, but also a substantial amount of human. A hybrid perhaps?

Another is a girl with blue hair who falls asleep while the teacher is talking about the taxonomy order. She's definitely a fairy. Heck, that hair of hers is probably naturally blue!

But the most surprising discovery is the vampire.

She seems dutiful enough, taking notes and drawing diagrams and all that other stuff. She's filthy too, not something you see often with vampires, and I could swear those are work gloves sticking out of her pocket (assuming my eyes are telling me the truth that is). But that doesn't matter. What matters is that a vampire, the most privileged species on Luna, is on Earth, almost certainly without permission. The question is, why?

The bell rings and I breathe a sigh of relief. Finally, I can leave this excuse of a school!

I've been given a bunch of homework assignments, most of which will serve absolutely no purpose in bettering my future, but I have something more important to take care of.

I wait outside the school, pretending to read a book I checked out from the library for this purpose. I force myself not to look up when the door swings open and the vampire's scent invades my nostrils, accompanied by the fairy. I stay still until their scents have all but disappeared before tossing my book back into my bag and setting off after them.

I'm careful, never allowing their smell to get stronger or weaker. I can't risk them, or anyone for that matter, noticing me following them. Stars the rumours that would cause… I don't care all that much about my reputation, but I'd rather this place didn't become even more insufferable.

Eventually, I arrive at a building that appears to be in the middle of construction, though there isn't a worker or a machine in sight. Whoever was building this must have given up.

I quietly walk up to the outer wall and lean against it, pulling out my book again. But I'm not planning to read.

Werewolves naturally have more advanced senses than the other species. Our sense of smell for instance, can detect a person's unique individual scent. Our eyesight is sharper and deteriorates slower. As for our hearing, well, let's just say it's perfectly capable of reaching through the walls of a half-finished building.

"-said she was attacked." I recognise the vampire's voice from biology class.

And older voice replies, "I know. She told me as soon as she got home. Thankfully that beast hadn't hurt her."

"But she was the only one! It can't be a coincidence that the only person the werewolves actually seemed like they were going to eat was a half-elf!"

Ah, they must be talking about that girl with the long hair. So she is a hybrid!

"Actually Cinder," Comes the fairy's voice, "Cress wasn't the only one. Scarlet got attacked too."

"Do you think she's also Lunar?" The vampire, "Cinder", asks incredulously.

"Maybe. Also, have you noticed how Wolf's been limping ever since last weekend? The guy never picks a fight with anyone, and no-one dares to go up against him. I mean, the guy's like six feet of pure muscle! But somehow he got injured in his leg."

"Wolf wasn't even at the party Iko! He might've just fallen down the stairs or something."

"I would've thought the same thing if Kai hadn't told me he stayed home from school the day after the attack!"

"Might I remind you that whether or not any of these people are Lunar doesn't mean a thing?" Cries the old man in exasperation, "What matters is that the werewolves are most definitely hostile and that they have no qualms over hurting innocent people!"

"You actually didn't know that before?" Iko's voice exclaims.

There's a pause, and I imagine a stereotypical old man giving Iko a look.

Cinder groans in frustration. "Great. Just great. If she's sending attack squads to hurt Earthens, it pretty much confirms that Levana wants Earth as well as Luna. And we still don't have a plan to knock her off that throne of hers."

I smirk to myself. We actually aren't supposed to attack the Earthens, only immigrants, particularly the ones who've stolen bioelectrical protection devices from the research facilities. What they're getting so worked up about are just a couple of dogs breaking protocol. Yeah, I'll definitely report that back to Luna. I'm almost positive Jerrico is one of the rule-breakers. As for the fact that they apparently want to oust Levana? Still trying to work out what to do about that.

"Selene, I understand your frustration, but we're talking about overthrowing one of the most powerful vampires in history!" The old man exclaims.

Wait, Selene? I thought her name is Cinder.

"For the zillionth time Erland, it's Cinder!"

Guess I thought right.

"And I'm one of the most powerful vampires in history, remember? I have the exact same ancestors as her!"

Wait what? This girl is related to Levana? But that's impossible! All of the queen's relatives are dead! Her parents, Jannali and Marok. Her sister, Channary. Her niece… Selene.

I almost drop my book in surprise. Selene Channary Jannali Blackburn, the heir to the throne of Luna, who died in fire fourteen years ago at the age of three. Cinder is seventeen I think, the same age Selene would be if she was still alive. Now that I think of it, Cinder looks quite a bit like the pictures of Channary I've seen hanging in the castle halls, albeit a bit blander since all of those pictures depicted Channary with her glamour. Cinder, Selene, the crown princess of Luna, is… alive.

**A/N: Of all the things Jacin might have expected to learn during his time on Earth, I think it's safe to say that this wasn't one of them.**

**We learn a little bit more about Jacin here, as well as werewolves as a species and the social structure of Luna. We also got to see him shamelessly insulting Earthen schools, which is always a plus!**

**What will Jacin do with all this new information? Will Cinder ever make any progress on her revolution? **

**Please review!**


	14. Ignored

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Scarlet's POV:

**Ignored**

I stare at my copy of _Romeo and Juliet_, but I don't bother to read the words. It's not like I'm going to understand them anyway. It beats me how anyone in Shakespeare's time managed to have a conversation when the only language they spoke was gobbledegook.

I'm supposed to be looking for quotes that represent death for an essay (cheerful), but I figure I can find at least five in the last ten minutes of class. That'll be plenty. And I'm a bit busy trying to understand the somehow even more annoying mystery sitting next to me.

Wolf hasn't so much as looked at me since he came back to school. In fact, I'm pretty sure he's avoiding me. Every time I walk up to him, or shout out a greeting, he turns in the opposite direction from where I am or walks a little faster. Never mind the fact that I'm the one who wrapped him up in bandages to keep him from _bleeding to death. _Sure, let's just go ahead and pretend that never happened! And to think I was actually starting to like him! I mean, I was pretty terrified of him at first. Normally I'd be a bit ashamed to admit that but I think it's safe to say that if anyone else saw him fight that wolf they'd be of the same opinion. Just remembering the way he grinned after he broke it's leg, or the way he seemed to relish it's pain when he threw it into the fence for the second time sends an involuntary shudder down my spine. And it was probably a trick of the light, but I could swear he had fangs or something. Guess he's more wolf-like than I thought.

But, just talking to him later that evening, he didn't seem so bad. I still think he's a bit unhinged (how can I not after seeing that?) but other than that he was almost likeable. And clearly not used to talking to people. It was cute, but it made for a pretty awkward atmosphere from time to time.

But the weirdest part of that night by far was… I don't even know how to describe it. One minute Wolf was just sitting next to me, looking very awkward and embarrassed after he told me that I have nice eyes (not that I was much better). The next he was struggling to breathe and was shaking uncontrollably. I tried to help him, even though I had no idea what the heck was going on, but he just shrank away from my touch, blocked his ears as I tried to talk to him and sat there, curled in a little ball of agony. And when it finally passed, he was as blank and empty as he was when we first met. I can't deny how disappointed I was when that happened.

When the bell goes, I open my mouth to try and make another attempt at talking to Wolf, but he is already halfway to the door. Damn his long strides!

Huffing, I gather up my books and make my way out of the classroom. Or, try to. I barely go two steps when some girl I don't know skips up to me.

"Hey Scarlet!" She chirps, flashing a blindingly white smile.

"…Hey?" I reply unsurely. Okay, maybe I do know this girl. What was her name again?

As if she can read my mind, the girl frowns and points at her face. "Iko. I sit next to you in Maths?"

"Right, right, Iko." I struggle to keep the groan out of my voice. If Maths class is anything to go by, Iko's a complete gossip queen.

My verdict is proved right when Iko smiles slyly at me. "So… I saw you looking at Wolf during class today…"

I glare at her. "I was just trying to work out why he never talks to people, that's all."

Iko smirks at me, clearly not believing my excuse. "Come on Scarlet, I've been at high school long enough to know what a crush looks like."

My glare intensifies. "I don't have a crush!"

"Sure you don't."

Rolling my eyes, I finally walk out into the hallway. I'm already late for History.

Iko jogs over to walk beside me. "Hey, there's nothing wrong with having a crush!"

"I know, but I don't have one. And I definitely don't have one on Wolf!"

"There's nothing wrong with having a crush on Wolf either. You can't deny that he's hot!"

I snort. "Hot isn't the word I would use."

"Handsome then? Or Dreamy?"

I groan with frustration. Though I hate to admit it right now, Iko does have a point. Wolf may be one of the most annoying people I've ever met, but he's certainly not ugly with his muscular build and his beautiful eyes. Even his scars and wild hair give him a sort of ruggedly handsome look. And at the moment, this frustrates me to no end.

"Well, I wish you luck," Iko continues, "cus you aren't the only girl in this school who's fancied Wolf. I've seen plenty of girls trying to flirt with him, and he offers absolutely no reaction."

"And they were actually surprised?" I snap irritably and quicken my pace. This conversation is doing nothing for my bad mood.

Throughout the day, I find myself shooting glances at Wolf. In the cafeteria, in the hallways, in class. Never once does he glance back.

By the time the final bell goes, my patience has run out. If Wolf thinks that I'm just going to let him ignore me, then I'm prepared to prove him wrong.

I spot him within about ten seconds of searching the mob of students pouring out the school doors. Partially because he's taller than most of the other students, and partially because all the other students give him a small berth.

I jog up to his side and grip his forearm tightly, purposely placing my hand right on top of the tattoo. He's chosen to wear a short-sleeved shirt today, so I can see the brown-furred wolf inked into his skin. I can also clearly see the well-developed muscles of his arms, as can other girls. For some reason, the thought makes me angry. Well, angri_er_.

His muscles stiffen at my sudden touch. His green eyes flick to my face and he seems to shrink away from my glare.

"Care to tell me why you've been ignoring me for the past couple of days?" I snarl at him.

"I'm not really used to interaction." His voice is stone, as usual, though with a bit more feeling carved into it this time. I think.

"Cut the act, you've been avoiding me!"

"I figured you wouldn't want to talk to me." Okay, there was definitely something there that time.

"What the heck gave you that idea?"

Wolf shifts his weight, looking uncomfortable. "I saw the way you looked at me after I… after the wolf attack. You were horrified."

As much as I hate to admit it, he's not wrong.

"Didn't stop me from helping you, did it?"

"I figured you were just being nice."

"Oh, and is that the reason you conjured for me talking with you afterward? I was being "nice"?"

Wolf says nothing.

I inhale deeply through my nose, trying to reel in my temper. "Look, I don't appreciate being ignored. So, if you want to go the next few days being able to see through both eyes, I suggest you stop it. Are we clear?"

Wolf's eyes glint, almost like he's amused. "Crystal."

My scowl softens slightly, and I loosen my grip on his arm, but don't let go. I don't quite trust him not to run away.

"So how did your family react when you came home covered in blood?"  
"They freaked." Wolf says simply. "And dragged me to the hospital."

I smirk. "I can hardly blame them. Those wounds were deep. Speaking of which, did you tell them about how you had that pain attack? Or, whatever it was."

He shakes his head. "I didn't want them to worry over nothing."

"Nothing!" I repeat incredulously, "I don't know what that was, but it definitely wasn't nothing!"

"Yes it was." He replies calmly, "I should know. I got sent to hospital once for them and the doctors just couldn't figure out what was wrong. They hurt, but they don't do any physical damage."

"Wait, these things are a regular occurrence?" I cry.

Wolf blinks, as if just realising what he's said. "Well, I mean, sort of? But like I just said, they're harmless!"

I snort. Yeah right.

**A/N: I've missed writing Scarlet **

**Quite a bit of Wolflet feels scattered around this chapter! I've already mentioned that I love them, right? **

**Wolf's let slip to Scarlet that he has seizures. What will she do with this new information? Are Wolf's seizures really as harmless as he thinks? **

**Please review!**


	15. A Crashed Meeting

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Cinder's POV:

**A Crashed Meeting**

I really hate these after school meetings.

Sure, I actually receive my education and get to see the rest of my friends, but I definitely don't like hanging around in a building that looks like it can collapse at any moment. Also, I had to take that pop-quiz in history class today (which I'm pretty sure I failed). Damn Erland and his love of education!

"Well, the good news is that there have been no other werewolf attacks like at that party."

Speak of the devil.

"The bad news is that there could be werewolves milling around the general populace in human form right now, perfectly positioned for another attack."

"So… the good news means absolutely nothing then." Iko clarifies.

"The good news is fact! The bad news is purely theoretical! That counts for something!"

"So you're just being a pessimist? Is that what you're saying?"

"No!"

I roll my eyes at my partners. How have I put up with these two for all these years?

"Have either of you stopped to consider the notion that we're going about this in entirely the wrong way?" I snap.

Iko looks at me, eyes bright with interest. Erland looks a bit more apprehensive.

"These werewolves are away from Levana's sphere of control. Here, they have a chance at rebellion, a chance to live their own lives! If we can just make them realise that, they'll start allowing themselves a taste of the freedom they never had! Then, we can promise them a chance to live a life like that, but on Luna."

Iko claps her hands and catcalls, mimicking an applause while Erland rubs his forehead in frustration. "As nice as that idea sounds Cinder, all that'll do is give us a werewolf infestation. Why would this oppressed species choose to make their world better when they can just live in this one? It's about a thousand times easier after all! And besides, there's bioelectric sickness to consider-"

"They'll have protection. If they didn't, then those werewolves at the party would have been writhing in pain on the dance floor instead of actually bringing down teenagers."

"I wouldn't be surprised if the necessary technologies to provide that protection have been modified to be operated remotely. They could be turned off if the werewolves don't return. They wouldn't last a full year on Earth if that happened!"

I throw my head back and groan. Why does Dr Erland have to be so logical all the time?

"Okay, so we're clearly not going to make any progress on the werewolves. Why don't we try one of the other species?" Iko suggests.

"The vampires won't help us for obvious reasons, the elves live a very privileged life under their rule, and fairies are the weakest species in the sense that they have no special traits that will prove ultimately useful in a fight." Dr Erland explains dryly.

"Fairies aren't weak!" Iko protests indignantly.

"Scientifically, they are."

"THEY AREN'T!"

I feel the blood drain away from my face at Iko's outburst. This isn't good. "Um… Iko?"

"WHAT?"

"Your wings are showing."

Her eyes widen and she glances behind her at the pulsing red ribbons reaching out from her back, whipping violently in an imaginary wind. As I watch, they change colour, dulling into a cloudy silver, the colour of fear.

As always, I'm a bit awestruck by the sight of Iko's wings (or, more accurately, her soul). I'm looking at Iko's entire personality, her emotions, her dreams, everything that makes her Iko! Unfortunately, everything that makes her Iko is also very noticeable.

Iko quickly "furls" her wings, reabsorbing their essence into her body. I dare to breathe a relieved sigh, hoping that whoever saw the red and silver light shining through the unfinished windows of the building would assume it's some random teenagers playing around with a disco light or something.

"You guys are really bad at the whole "inconspicuous" thing aren't you?"

Note to self: never tempt fate and breathe a sigh of relief again.

A guy steps through one of the windows. I take in his long blond hair tied in a ponytail and his cold blue eyes, and slump over in frustration. I actually know this guy! Jacin Clay, new kid at our school as of two days ago, is in my biology class and has a sarcastic disposition to rival mine. And also a jerk.

Iko folds her arms and looks at him coldly. "What do you want Clay?"

"Just wondering why you seem to think it's a good idea to talk about overthrowing an entire government in a public area." He shoots Iko a bored look. "Also, fairies definitely are the weakest species."

A scream of rage tears itself out of Iko's throat and she swings a closed fist straight at Jacin's face. He blocks it easily. "Case in point."

"You're Lunar?" Dr Erland asks him, looking more fascinated than wary.

"Yep. Werewolf, member of the Queen's Guard."

I curse under my breath. "So there are werewolves milling about undercover then."

Jacin shrugs unconcernedly. "Nah, only me. Some rogue werewolf kicked the Captain of the Guard's butt and Her Majesty sent me recruit them for the Guard."

I perk up with interest. "There's a werewolf here who's not with Levana?"

"Don't get to excited Selene. I haven't found them yet and judging from the Captain's report they don't have bioelectric sickness. Either they went to a lot of trouble to get away from Luna or moved to Earth at a very young age and aren't even away it exists."

"Don't call me Selene."

"Whatever Ashes."

I glare at him. I did mention this guy's a jerk right?

"How did you know her name is Selene?" Dr Erland asks shrewdly.

"I eavesdropped on your last meeting. Daughter of Channary Blackburn, yes? The heir to the throne of Luna? You look a lot like your mom."

I offer no reply, though my heart tweaks a little at his words.

I've never thought much about my mother. From what Dr Erland has told me, she only cared about her dresses and her men. I don't feel sad about her death. She was a selfish and vain woman. Still, knowing that I share anything with her, even my appearance, it makes me long for her. It makes me long for a mother.

I shake these thoughts out of my head. Channary is dead now, and besides, she probably wouldn't have loved me that much anyway.

I turn back to the matter at hand. "So you're a Royal Guard. That means you must have some information on the goings-on at the castle."

Jacin raises an eyebrow at me. "I'm a guard. I don't know any of Levana's top-secret plans if that's what you're after."

"But you know some of her not-so-secret plans, which is more than we do."

"And why would I tell her not-so-secret plans to you?"

"Are you afraid of what Levana will do to you if she finds out?"

"It's not me I'm worried about."

"Your family then? Or a friend?"

Jacin scowls at me but says nothing.

I plow on. "You're protecting someone, and that's totally understandable. But the information you have can be exactly what we need to actually get this revolution started. Tell me, do you think the person your protecting will be safer while Levana is alive, or when she's dead?"

**A/N: A little bit more depth on fairies as a species here, as well as Cinder's opinion of her mother, Channary. Plus, a dash of Jacin humour (I love writing him so much!)**

**Jacin has a choice to make: help Cinder with her revolution, or… don't. What will he choose? Is his information as useful as Cinder hopes? So many questions that will NOT be answered in the next chapter (cue evil laughter).**

**Please review!**


	16. A Hug

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Wolf's POV:

**A Hug**

How did my life get so complicated?

Jacin's still hanging around, and he keeps shooting me these weird looks. I get that he wants to figure out who I am, I want to know where I know him from as well, but it still makes me uncomfortable.

It's becoming harder and harder to keep my emotions in check. They're cracks gradually developing around the walls I build around myself, and it's really starting to have a negative effect. My seizures are becoming more common. Almost daily I feel sharp bursts of pure agony tear through me. And I'm starting to wonder if they're really as harmless as the police keep insisting. My body is constantly aching, though the pain is so dull it's more annoying than anything, and I've been feeling hungrier lately too. And my new (I don't even know what to call it. Friendship?) with Scarlet isn't helping.

Good news, I've finally grown accustomed to that weird seizure that only targets certain areas of my body. Bad news, I am really, really struggling with the whole, "not-liking-Scarlet" thing. Actually, that's an understatement. I'm completely failing at it.

Every time she shoots me a smile it sends both a wave of warmth and a shot of searing pain through me. Every snarky comment makes my mouth twitch with the urge to smile. Whenever I see one of the popular girls insulting her, outrage pulses through my bloodstream and I have to resist the urge to just punch them then and there (Scarlet usually does that for me anyway). Whenever I see another guy flirting with her, I bristle with envy (and bite back a smirk if Scarlet slaps them). I've began to simultaneously look forward to and dread seeing her. Confused? Me too.

I miss my old, uncomplicated life.

_Rrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnng!_

I jump at the sound of the school bell. It's the end of the day already?

I glance down at my open exercise book. It's completely blank.

I sigh in dismay and close the book. Great. The _Romeo and Juliet_ project is looming ever closer and I spent an entire lesson in a fog of self-pity and frustration.

"Class, I want you to write a practice essay for _Romeo and Juliet _on the contrast and similarities shown between love and hate, due in next week." Ms Hoshi tells us. This statement is met by more than a few groans, but she ignores the class's discontent and starts packing up her equipment.

"Hey Wolf!"

I turn to see Scarlet smiling up at me and my heart skips a beat.

"Can we work on the homework assignment together? I haven't been paying much attention to this project."

I roll my eyes. "Why does that not surprise me."

"Hey, it's not my fault _Romeo and Juliet _is a stupid story. If they want me to make an effort, they should pick something interesting!"

My mouth twitches with the urge to smile. I did mention that's been happening more frequently, right? "Alright, I'll help. You're place?"

"Actually, I was wondering if we could work at yours." Her happy expression turns sour, "I'm not exactly eager to spend more time with my dad."

"Shouldn't he be at work or drowning his sorrows in a bar somewhere?"

Scarlet barks with laughter. "Probably, but I wouldn't be surprised if he got fired today and decided to blame me for it. God knows it wouldn't be the first time. So… can I come to your place?"

I hesitate. On the one hand, spending more time with Scarlet is a very bad idea, and I'm not sure I'm ready for her to find out about my… _familial_ situation. On the other hand, a part of me, a big part of me, wants to spend more time with her, to show her something of my life other than what she's seen at school, and I know the police would be happy to see that I'm actually talking to someone.

Scarlet stares at me, waiting for an answer.

I sigh. "Alright."

Her answering smile wipes away any regrets I might have.

I shift my weight, feeling inexplicably nervous. "Well, this is where I live."

Scarlet frowns, obviously confused. "Isn't this the police station?"  
"Yes."

Her frown deepens. "Why do you live at the police station? Are your parents really serious about their jobs or something?"

I gulp. "No…"

"Then why-"

Suddenly, her eyes widen, and she gazes up at me. "Wolf, you do have parents, right?"

I blink at her. How did she figure that out so fast?

"Right?"

My gaze falls away from hers, which is all the answer she needs.

Before I know what's happening, Scarlet has thrown her arms around my middle in a tight hug. "I'm so sorry."

I don't reply. I'm too busy trying to process… whatever is happening right now. Scarlet is hugging me. _Scarlet _is _hugging_ me! It's been years since I've been hugged by anyone! I don't know how to react!

Awkwardly, I return the hug, heat rushing to my face. My heart is pounding at a million miles an hour, and my muscles feel tense like I'm expecting an attack. Which is sort of appropriate, because as soon as Scarlet hugged me, a seizure hit. And it's a bad one. Flaming sparks shoot through my nerves, attacking my cells with a vengeance. Acid burns through my veins, splitting apart the thin tubes and eating away at muscle and bone. Hammers beat against the inside of my skull, breaking it apart at the seams. But I barely notice the pain. All I'm aware of is the girl wrapped in my arms pressing her face into my chest. Compared to that, the pain, terrible as it is, fades to nothing.

Scarlet, oblivious to all that's going on inside me, murmurs quietly, "I've just been complaining about my dad to you, and you've had to listen to me arguing with him at that hospital, and-"

"Hey, it's alright." My voice sounds oddly shaky. "Your dad is a piece of work. I hear what he says to you as well during those sessions. I'd be surprised if you didn't complain now and then."  
"Still, you don't even _have _a dad."  
"Which isn't your fault. I can handle other people talking about their parents, whether in a positive light or a negative light."

Scarlet lifts her brown gaze up to my face, and I feel my blush deepen. "You're sure?"  
"My sessions are next to yours, aren't they? Have you ever heard me complain?"

She frowns, looking uncertain. "Well if you're certain…"

I nod.

Scarlet gives me one last squeeze (making my heart beat even faster. How has it not burst yet?) and lets go. I'm not sure whether I'm relieved or disappointed.

She turns to the police station. "So, it's okay if we just walk it?"

"Should be."

"Good enough for me." And she walks over and pushes open the doors. I pause to take a deep breath, trying to calm myself down before following.

Grant is at the reception desk, filling out some form or another. He glances back at Scarlet and I as we enter the building. "Hey kid. Good day at school?"

"Fine."

"And what's your name Miss?"

Scarlet gives him a small wave. "Scarlet. Wolf's helping me out with English homework."

"That's nice." Grant turns back to his forms, before frowning and looking back up again. "Wait, what did you say?"  
"Wolf's helping me out with English homework."

His eyes widen with shock and he looks up at me. "You actually invited a friend from school over?"

"Um, yes?" I reply. I didn't do anything wrong did I?

Grant gapes at me for a few moments before grinning hugely. He runs around the reception counter and into one of the corridors, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Hey! Z finally made a friend!"

"What?"

"Finally!"  
"Thank God!"  
"Who is it?"

Scarlet is laughing her head off at the reactions of the police officers. I groan. I think I know what the favourite topic of conversation at dinner tonight will be.

**A/N: I hope this has filled all your Wolflet cravings for the day.**

**Wolf's life is progressively getting more and more complex, and his frequent seizures are finally starting to take a toll on his body. And Jacin hasn't even tried recruiting him yet! Things aren't looking like they're going to get easier for Wolf anytime soon.**

**How much worse are Wolf's seizures going to get? Was Scarlet really as oblivious to the effect her hug had on Wolf as she seemed?**

**Please review!**


	17. Not Here

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Kai's POV:

**Not Here**

It's Math class, and everything is normal. The teacher is explaining techniques for working out problems like normal, I'm taking notes and answering my textbook questions like normal, and Thorne is using his graph paper to make paper airplanes like normal. There's just one thing that's not normal.

In every class, not just Math but _every_ class, my mind is completely focused on the lesson. Nothing else matters as much as the words on the whiteboard and in my textbook. But this time, barely any of my attention is on the class itself (which probably means all my notes are wrong and that I'm going to have to redo most of my working). I've got some more pressing matters filling my mind.

The doctors came to check up on my dad yesterday and reported that his condition hasn't changed one bit. They said it like it was good news, like it didn't matter that he wasn't getting better so long as he wasn't getting worse. I had to go to my room and start tearing up my origami to keep myself from screaming in the doctors' faces about what idiots they were and who did they think they were kidding and _would you stop acting like everything is fine?_

It was a pretty terrible afternoon.

The doctors' visit was like a wake-up call. It's time to face the cold, hard facts. Dad's not going to get better any time soon, and I can't just keep bottling up my grief and taking out my anger on origami. I've got to talk to someone. I've got to let someone else know what I'm going through. And I don't just mean the staff or the officials that help Dad run this place. I mean someone my age. Someone like the girl with messy brown hair and oil stains on her shirt sitting next to me.

The shrill ringing of the bell makes me jump with surprise. Math is over already?

Students chatter to each other as they push their chairs back and gather up their textbooks. I wonder what it's like to feel so carefree?

I tap Cinder on the shoulder and she turns her head to face me.

"Can you come over to my place after school?" I ask, "There's something I want to show you."  
Cinder shrugs. "Well, I haven't got anything to do this afternoon. What's your address?"  
"You can just come home with me. Your parents won't mind, will they?"

Cinder's smile doesn't quite reach her eyes. "I think they'll be cool with it"

I smile with relief. "Okay, good. Meet up outside the front door?"

She nods.

I smile with relief. Thank God. "Great! See you then!" And then hurry off for History. I'm already late.

I don't know whether I should feel smug or embarrassed as Cinder stares open-mouthed at the black luxury car and the chauffer standing just outside the driver's door.

"I thought you had your own car." Cinder murmured.

"I do, but I mainly use it for, you know, leisure stuff. Trips to the cinema and all that. Stuff like school, well, I use the chauffer."

She shook her head. "I don't even know why I'm surprised that you'd have someone who drives you around in a flash car, but I am."

I grin at her. "Scale of one to ten: how badly to you want to lift that car's hood and dissect its engine?"

"Twelve."

I chuckle and open the passenger door for her. She rolls her eyes at the gesture and gets in.

During the drive back to my place, my light mood steadily darkens. I just keep thinking about my dad, with his pure black eyes, stumbling around the house, smiling serenely.

An involuntary shudder runs across my spine.

"Kai? Everything okay?" Cinder asks concernedly.

"Yes." I reply automatically. "No. You'll see soon enough."

She doesn't press me further, but I can feel her worried gaze on me as I stare out of the window.

I wonder what Dad would think of Cinder? I've told him about her of course, but I always lost my nerve before I could get to the important things like her personality. Pretty much all Dad knows about her is that she's a good mechanic and that she goes to my school. I think he'd like her. Cinder is nothing if not logical, and Dad likes logical people. He says they're like rocks, and you can always trust and depend on them. He would also like her no-nonsense attitude. He hates it when people spend more time talking about something they would like to do that actually doing the thing. Well, as far as I know Cinder never told anyone she wanted to be a mechanic, she just went to a shop and applied for a job. Dad would like that about her. Yeah, I'm pretty sure Dad would like Cinder. If he was his normal self. Right now, I don't think he'd even see her.

When we arrive at my house, I mentally prepare myself for seeing Dad again. I don't really know why I do it. Seeing him still feels like a sledgehammer to the face. Maybe it makes me feel like I have some control over this impossible situation?

A burst of incredulous laughter interrupts my absolutely useless ritual.

"You live in a _mansion? _A freaking _mansion?_"

I glance up at the large, handsome building. "Uh… yes?"

Cinder steps forward, grinning with amazement. "It's got columns around the porch and everything! Are those gargoyles?"

I internally debate the pros and cons of telling her that there are security cameras hidden inside the gargoyles, just to make the house (okay mansion) look a tiny bit less gaudy. Probably not allowed.

I walk up to double doors and rap the sturdy wood with one of the brass knockers. Cinder smirks at me. "What's wrong with using your knuckles like all of us common folk?"

"It hurts."  
"Touché."

The doors open, and my eyes widen with surprise when I see that it wasn't the butler who'd opened them.

"Afternoon Kaito." Says my dad's secretary. "Did you have a good day at school?"  
"Same as always Torin."

He looks over my shoulder and frowns. "Who's this?"

"This is Cinder, I invited her over."

"Kaito, you know it's not a good idea to "invite people over" at this time."

I sigh. Torin was always a bit serious. "Look, I just want to talk to someone about it."

"You can talk to me."

"I meant someone my age." _Who doesn't have their nose stuck in legal documents all day._

Torin still looks unsatisfied, but he steps aside to let Cinder and I in.

"What was that all about." Cinder whispers, staring at Torin uneasily.

"It's… complicated. You'll see in a minute." I hurriedly add when a catch the look Cinder's giving me.

Dad was in the living room this morning, so I start my search for him in the living room. Sure enough, there he is, sitting in the exact same armchair and still staring at the armchair across from him since no one moved his head to stare at something else.

I gesture to him. "That's my dad." My voice cracks on the last word.

Cinder and I walk around the chair so that we're standing in front of him. Cinder sucks in a breath sharply as she sees his black eyes. I don't react, though inside I feel as though my soul is being shattered into a million pieces. This man, once energetic and joking, always with a ready grin on his face, is my father. I've had time to grow accustomed to this new reality; family members die, parents divorce, and people manage to go on, so I should too. But this… this feels different. It's a different kind of loss. Because he's still here, staring at me, but _he's _not here. How do you cope with a loss like that?

I wave half-heartedly. "Hi dad."

He blinks, a long, slow movement, and his smile widens almost imperceptibly before he finally replies: "Hello Kai." His voice lilts unnaturally.

I feel Cinder's hand on my shoulder. I reach up and grip her fingers tightly. "He's been like this for weeks. The doctors can't tell what's wrong with him. They found some kind of anomaly in his bloodstream, but they don't know what it is." I take a short, shuddering breath. "I just, I wanted to talk to someone about it. Torin tries to help and he's comforting, in his own way, but I just-" I break off. I don't know how to finish.

My vision blurs and something wet runs down my cheeks. I wipe them distractedly with my free hand. I'm still gripping Cinder's like a lifeline.

Another tear traces a path down my cheek, and I feel the coarse leather of Cinder's glove rub against my skin as she wipes it away for me. "He'll get better Kai," she assures me softly, "he will. I'll make sure of it."

**A/N: The feels…. Oh the feels…**

**This chapter was… well there's no other word for it: sad. Really, really, sad. Who else wants to give Kai a great big hug?  
**

**How can Cinder help Kai's dad get better? Will she be able to keep her promise?**

**Please review!**


	18. Attacks and Bites

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Cinder's POV:

**Attacks and Bites**

The News is a very useful tool. Obviously it tells you about current events and which politician screwed up recently and what wars are happening right now, all very handy information for the normal Earth resident. But for me, it's a quick way of finding out what new horror Levana has unleashed on this world. And she's been doing some unleashing.

I stare at the TV screen, completely rapt with the story the news anchor is telling. Blurry footage of the park last night fills the screen, and at the bottom, written in bold text, is the header: GIANT WOLVES ATTACK AGAIN.

"_A week after their first appearance at a high-school party, the giant wolves showed themselves again at the park at approximately six pm last night." _The anchor-woman states, _"However, unlike their first attack, these beasts claimed victims. Twelve people died during the attack, and fifteen are currently in hospital being treated for their wounds. We advise all of our viewers to stay indoors during the evenings until this situation has been taken care of."_

I grab the remote and turn off the TV. Twelve people dead. Twelve! No way can there be that many lunars in the Commonwealth! And that's not even counting the fifteen injured! Escaping Luna is possible, sure, but possible isn't the same as easy.

"Hey Cinder!" Iko calls, coming around a corner, "_True Blue _is having a sale today! Wanna come check it out with me?"

"Iko, what has been my answer every other time you've asked me to go shopping with you?"

"Oh, come on Cinder! Your wardrobe is in dire need of something stylish!"  
"Actually, my wardrobe is perfectly happy with t-shirts and baggy pants."

Iko groans. "Your impossible."

"I pride myself on it."

She huffs but doesn't push me any further. Plopping down on the couch beside me, she gazes at the TV. "Pass the remote, will ya?"

"Trust me, you don't want to see what's on the News today."

Iko raises her eyebrows. "I was going to watch a movie, but now I'm curious. What was on the News?" 

I sigh and explain the incident at the park to her. When I finish, Iko has gone pale.

"Twelve people?" She whispers.

I nod sadly. "And that's not all Levana's been meddling around with on this side of the universe. You see, Kai invited me over to his house yesterday-Iko stop squealing!"

"Sorry." She says, though she's still grinning like a maniac. I just know she's going to be writing down ship names for me and Kai later today.

"Anyway, he wanted to talk to me about something-no, not to confess his undying love. His dad's been pretty sick lately, and he wanted someone close to his age to talk to about it."

Iko smirks. "Sure that was the reason."  
"Iko, I swear…"  
"Oh Cinder, don't pretend you weren't flattered he chose to talk to you!"

I was a little, but there's no way I'm telling Iko that.

"Do you want to hear the story or not?"

"Sorry. Please go on."

"His dad isn't sick Iko, they're just saying he's sick because there's no other way they know how to describe it. He's been bitten by a vampire."

Iko's cheerful teasing smile collapses with horror at my words.

Unlike in the movies and books of this world, vampires can't turn other people into vampires with their bite. What we can do is probably even worse. Our fangs have a sort of venom in them, except this stuff doesn't kill our victims. It forces them to do our bidding for the rest of their lives. Unless we die first of course. Whichever vampire bit Mayor Rikan can make him do literally anything. Drink poison, strangle his loved ones, murder everyone around him, _anything. _

An image pops unbidden into my head, of Mayor Rikan, smiling dreamily, driving a knife into his son's chest, completely deaf to his cries of pain and mercy. I shudder.

Iko gets up and takes her phone out of her pocket. "I'll call Dr Erland. He should know about this. Should we hold another meeting?"

"We can't. He said he had to work at the hospital today."  
Iko cursed under her breath but starts dialling Dr Erland's number anyway.

As Iko's phone buzzes, trying to make the call, I slump against the couch cushions and think about yesterday. That had been the first time I'd seen Kai cry. I felt awkward and useless as I stood next to him, staring at his dad. I wanted to tell him what was actually wrong. I wanted to tell him _so badly. _But I couldn't. For one thing, I'd look crazy. For another, the truth would probably upset him more. I couldn't do that to Kai. His despair was bad enough already. I feel like such an idiot for not seeing how sad he was before! The signs feel just too obvious now. A smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, a laugh that was too forced, a forlorn frown when no-one was looking. They were there, I saw them. How could I not know what they meant?

Dr Erland's distorted voice crackles out of Iko's phone, shocking me out of my thoughts. "This had better be good. I'm in the middle of a therapy session."

Iko has never been one for beating around the bush. She prefers to leave eloquent speaking to the poets and songwriters. Still, I'm sure there could have been a better way to start the conversation than: "Mayor Rikan's been bitten by a vampire."

A steady stream of profanities pours out of the speakers.

The cursing eventually stops and we're left in silence. Iko and I look at each other, both of us suppressing laughter at the fact that sensible Dr Erland just swore like a sailor.

Eventually, his (now much calmer) voice speaks through the phone again. "Alright, I've left my patient for a little bit so we can speak more freely. Now, what makes you think that the mayor has been bitten by a vampire?"

Iko quickly composes herself so Dr Erland won't know that we were laughing at him. "Cinder saw him. All of the symptoms are there."

There is a sound that might be a sharp intake of breath. "This is bad, this is very, very bad. Rikan is a man with significant power and influence. Now that Levana has control of him… this could mean disaster for the city!"

I lean closer to the phone so that Dr Erland can hear my voice. "And let me guess, we can't do anything about it because we don't have the resources, numbers or information to actually make any progress, right?"

I wait for him to make some kind of tired agreement. That's what he did all of the other times after all. And Dr Erland's nothing if not stub-

"You're right, we can't afford to stall anymore. We've got to find a way at getting those things, and fast. Cinder, Iko, I want you two to drill our guard friend for information regarding the castle's defences and where to broadcast the message of our revolution. Which communities will be most likely to listen, things like that. Also, get him to point out any lunar fugitives. He's a werewolf, he'll be able to smell them. I'll get my daughter to hack into some of the government's files on bioelectric protection. I'll find a way of hiding what she's really doing."

I stand corrected.

**A/N: The revolution is underway! **

**Now we know what happened to Kai's dad, and Levana's brief cease-fire has ended. Will there be any other attacks? Will Dr Erland be able to hide his daughter's true assignment from her? Why am I putting off making Kaider official in this story?**

**Please review!**

**P.S: **_**True Blue **_**isn't a real clothing store, I just made it up for the sake of the story. Just wanted to clear that up in case there was any confusion there.**


	19. A Weird Assignment and a Happy Surprise

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Cress's POV: 

**A Weird Assignment and a Happy Surprise**

My dad isn't exactly happy about my skill with hacking. Sure, he's really proud of me for how well I'm doing in computer science, designing games and programmes and stuff, but hacking? Breaking into someone else's device and gaining access to all their personal information? That he's never been particularly comfortable with. And yet, all of a sudden, he's asking me to hack into the computer of one of his colleagues?

"He has a document saved on there that I need for some medical research I'm doing." He tells me.

"Why don't you just ask him to email it to you?"

"The document is too big."

"So just borrow his computer!"

"He doesn't trust me not to go snooping."

"But he trusts a seventeen-year-old to hack into his computer and steal a file?"

"He knows you won't look at anything you're not meant to."

I raise a dubious eyebrow but say nothing. Clearly I'm not getting anywhere with this. Still, this task seems pretty suspicious. I'd better not be hacking into the FBI or something like that. I don't want to go to jail!

"Okay," I sigh, "I'll find your document. What's it called?"

Dad waves his hand nonchalantly. "Oh, I don't know Cress. I'm getting old, my memory's not what it used to be."

"Dad, you could tell me the chemical equation for penicillin if you wanted to."

"File names and chemical equations are two very different things sweetheart."

I guess he can see that I'm still not fully convinced, because he smiles warmly and puts his hands on my shoulders. "My little Crescent Moon, you know that I would never ask you to do something unethical. I promise you, you're not doing anything bad, just finding some information I need. You won't get into any trouble because of this. I'll make sure of it."

I smile and try to feel reassured, but I just can't help the doubt shifting at the back of my mind. Something's not right here, that much is obvious. Whatever dad wants me to find, I don't think it's for his work. I'll do what he wants and hack into… whatever it is I'm hacking, but it can't hurt to have a little bit of a look around while I'm in, can it? Just so I know what I've gotten myself into?

I sit on my usual spot on the bus and open up my laptop. I plug in my earphones and hover my mouse over a new icon on my desktop. I finished this app only yesterday. It hasn't been tested yet, and undoubtedly there are still some bugs that I need to work out, but I still feel excited butterflies fluttering around in my stomach as I click on the icon.

Immediately, my screen turns black. As I watch, bold white text appears on the upper half, accompanied by a chipper, childish voice blaring through my earphones.

"_Hello big sister! What can I do for you?"_

I grin delightedly. "Hey Little Cress. Open game, "Treasure Hunt"."

"_Right away! Can I play?"_

"Sure!"

"Who're you talking too?"

I yelp, almost making my laptop fall to the floor. The newcomer chuckles at my reaction and my face burns with embarrassment. Or maybe because Thorne's talking to me. Or both.

He flashes his perfect teeth in a grin. "Sorry to spook you. Seriously though, Who're you talking to?"

"It's, um, an AI programme." I admit, fiddling with a lock of hair nervously.

"What, like Siri?"

"N-no. It's one that I, um, I made. I call it Little Cress."

Thorne's eyes widen with surprise (and maybe admiration?) at this. "You made a whole new AI?"

I nod.

"Dang. And to think that I struggle to just check my email."

Wait, is he impressed? Did I just impress Carswell Thorne? Oh please let him be impressed!

"Captain!"

I look up with a start to see a beautiful girl walk up to us. She smiles at Thorne with a confidence I can never have. "Come sit with me! Let Rapunzel here work on her lame codes and whatever computer stuff she does for fun."

My shoulders slump with disappointment. Well, it was nice while it lasted.

Thorne grins at her, and I brace myself for the flirtatious agreement that's surely on its way cus who would want to sit with pathetic, nerdy Crescent when you can sit next to this beautiful and popular goddess?

"That's sweet of you to offer Darla, but I think I'll stay here."

Wait, what?

Darla looks as shocked as I am, staring at Thorne like she's just waiting for him to laugh and tell her he's joking. Honestly, I'm expecting the same thing. But he says nothing, just sits and smiles at her.

"S-stay here?" Darla echoes incredulously.

"Yep. Cress is quite nice to talk to." Thorne says.

"B-but, she's _Cress! _She's a total nerd! And a freak! I mean, have you seen her hair? She's just a wannabe Rapunzel with a computer!"

I squirm in my seat, trying to make myself smaller. A few hairs drift in front of my face and I stare at them. Am I just a wannabe Rapunzel? I've always loved my hair, and I know other people think it's weird, but is it really that strange? I'd cut it, but, well, it's been long for as long as I can remember. I don't know how I'd cope with short hair!

I'm shocked out of my thoughts by Thorne speaking again. His tone is much colder now, and his smile has gone. "Have you finished protesting?"

Darla tosses her gorgeous chocolate brown hair. "I just don't understand why you're wasting your time on her, that's all."

"Maybe because I like her?" Thorne suggests icily, "And we're friends?"

Thorne likes me? We're friends?

A squeal bubbles up my throat, begging to be released. I manage to stop it from getting past my lips, but there's no hiding my grin.

Darla snorts and eyes me with distaste. "You might want to reconsider that decision."

"I'm sorry, are you still here?"

She huffs and strides back to her seat with her nose in the air.

Thorne glares after her before turning back to me. My breath catches in my throat as he smiles. "So, what were you saying about this programme?"

**A/N: Ah… Cresswell. If that doesn't put a smile on your face, I don't know what will!**

**Dr Erland has given Cress her assignment, and Thorne was a hero. But what will Cress find out on this hacker assignment? Will Thorne ever see her as more than a friend (spoiler: he will).**

**Please review!**


	20. Deadline

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Jacin's POV:

**Deadline**

You know what the only good thing about being on Earth is? Being away from Levana. Not having to listen to her saccharin voice or look at her fake beauty. To have a legitimate excuse for not carrying out her orders and, best of all, being able to insult her without anyone telling on me. I'll admit, I've been milking that last privilege a bit.

So no-one can exactly blame me for being a little grumpy when she suddenly calls me. I knew I should've ditched that stupid portscreen! Now I actually have to talk to her!

"Is there something you wished to discuss your highness?" I ask, fighting the urge to glare at the veiled figure in the video. She can't alter my perception through a wireless connection, so she always wears veils when she's being filmed or photographed.

"I only wanted to know why your mission is taking so long, Sir Clay." She replies.

"With all due respect my queen, there are a lot of people in this town. Finding a single person has proven to be difficult."

"An excuse I would be more inclined to believe if you weren't given a head start on this entire case. You're stationed at the area of the sighting, you are attending the academy the target likely goes to as well, you know what he looks like. You have everything you need to complete this mission promptly."

"There are many students and people around here who fit Captain Solis's description," I lie, "and the people here like to wear strong perfumes and colognes, so I can't smell if they're even werewolves."

Levana shakes her head, the sheer material of her veil swishing slightly with the movement. "I'm afraid that's not good enough Sir Clay. Now more than ever, the Royal Guard requires strong soldiers to fight for their queen. You will find this werewolf and bring him back for recruitment by the end of the long night, two weeks from now. Oh, and one more thing," she adds sweetly, "I've noticed some of the other guards shooting glances in Winter's direction more often than not lately. Of course, she is under my protection, but I shudder to think of what would happen if one of the guards happened to come across her alone."

My grip tightens on the port, its plastic casing cracking audibly.

I imagine a triumphant smile curling behind that cursed veil as the queen nods in satisfaction. "Two weeks Sir Clay, bring me my new guard." The screen goes dark and I release the enraged scream trapped in my throat.

I march into school, glaring at anyone who dares try and talk to me. They don't matter. They aren't my target.

Eventually I spot him heading towards one of the classrooms.

"Hey!" I call out and jog up to him.

Wolf pauses and turns to face me. I frown as I study his face. He looks a bit pale, and there are faint bags under his eyes.

"Are you okay?" I ask, "You look a little…"

He waves away my question. "I'm just a bit sore, that's all. Anyway, what's up?"

I raise an eyebrow. Since when did Wolf talk like a normal person and not a rock? "I need to talk to you. Privately. After school."

"I have a therapy session after school."

"When does it end?"

"At around half-past four, I think. But-"

I cut in. "Good. Where can we meet?"

"The police have been really strict about me getting straight back to the station lately. You know, with the attacks?" Wolf adds, scowling at me. Since when does Wolf scowl?

"Will the police eavesdrop if we talk in your room?"

"Wha-of course they won't!"

"Great, so we'll meet there." I say and move to walk away, when I feel a sharp tug on my collar.

"Do you mind telling me what's brought this on?" he asks with a hint of exasperation.

"Yes," I reply coolly, "I do mind."

"I'm not going to let you just barge into my room for no reason!"

"Would it help if I told you that it's a reason I can't say in public?"

"That makes it worse!"

I sigh with frustration and hold up my hand for him to see. I morph it slightly, letting the fingernails grow longer and sharper, and allowing just a touch of blond fur to grow on the skin.

Wolf's eyes widen with shock at the sight, and I quickly turn my hand back to normal. I can't have the kids here asking about why I've suddenly grown fur on my hand now, can I?

"Are you satisfied now?" I ask him.

He blinks at my hand, as if it still had fur and claws, before shaking his head. "I can't talk about that kind of thing. Too risky."

"You seemed fine with talking about it when we first met."

"We didn't talk about it though, you just asked me a bunch of weird questions and didn't believe my answers!"

I roll my eyes at his protests. "Those questions were about that."

"No, they were about some stuff I didn't even know about!"

"I find that hard to believe. Look, it'll only be a couple of minutes, and you said yourself, the police aren't going to eavesdrop. So can we talk or not?"

Wolf's fists clench, and I half expect him to punch me then and there, but he sighs and nods defeatedly. "Fine."

I watch him as he walks away. I ball of guilt forms inside of me, but I ignore it. Until I finish my mission, Winter's safety is compromised, and my mission just happens to be recruiting Wolf into slavery for a tyrant. I don't have a choice, not if I want to keep Winter safe.

"Hey, do you have a minute?"

I jump and whirl around to face whoever decided it would be a good idea to sneak up on me. Iko is standing there, looking mildly surprised at my reaction.

I take a moment to compose myself before glaring at her. "What do you want?"

She raises her eyebrows at my rudeness. "Yeesh, someone's in a bad mood today."

"I don't appreciate people sneaking up behind me."

"I didn't sneak up behind you. It's not my fault that you aren't alert enough."

I huff. "Just tell me why you nearly gave me a heart attack just now, okay?"

She smiles conspiratorially and leans closer. "Tonight, we're holding a meeting. Same abandoned building as usual. Be there."

I tilt my head to one side. "Why should I?"

"Because we're finally getting our revolution going and we need some inside info."

"What makes you think that I'll give it?"

Iko blinks at me, obviously not expecting this reaction. "Uh… because Queen Levana sucks?"

I snort. "You're going to have to do better than that Fairy Godmother."

"Let me elaborate," she snaps, glaring at me, "you said that you were protecting someone by following Levana's orders, right?"  
"Right…" I cautiously concede.

"And you remember the question Cinder asked you, right?"

I sigh. ""Will they be safer while Levana is alive, or when she's dead"."

"And do you have an answer?"

I turn away, though I'm pretty sure Iko can guess what my answer is.

"Be there." She tells me again and stalks off.

**A/N: Jacin's back! Feels like forever since I last wrote him! **

**Levana's growing impatient, and the rebels are putting pressure on Jacin. Will he help them with their revolution? Or go ahead with his mission? **

**Please review!**


	21. Less Empty

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Scarlet's POV:

**Less Empty**

Another day, another counselling session. If you can even call it that. We're already about half an hour in and Dr Erland hasn't even asked ten questions yet or walked Dad and I through any trust exercises. Not that I'm complaining, those exercises were just an excuse for having Dad fall on the floor, but I'll take them over sitting around doing nothing. It's so boring!

Dr Erland is pale and anxiously scribbling in his notebook. I took a peek to see what he was writing, and it's just a bunch of weird sentences and questions that have nothing to do with this session. Stuff like, "How will we get there without her noticing?" and "Is everyone under her spell?"

Maybe he's having problems with his wife.

There's a ding from Dad's phone as he receives yet another text. Since Dr Erland didn't tell him to put away his phone, he's been texting someone or other for the whole session. Next time, I'm bringing a book or something cus no way am I putting up with this again! God, I'm so bored right now.

I sigh and stare at the opposite wall. I can faintly hear the sounds of nursery music on the other side. Dr Pine's latest strategy seems to be trying to invoke memories of Wolf's childhood, like reading bedtime stories to him or playing music tapes. I took a peek inside the room a few days ago, and Wolf seemed more annoyed by it all than anything. Still, I guess Dr Pine's doing something right, since Wolf has seemed a lot less empty lately. It's only brief, occasional instances, an angry scowl here, some suppressed laughter there, but they're there, and getting gradually more frequent. And call me a glory-seeker, but I think I might have had something to do with it as well.

The night the wolves attacked Thorne's party for instance, when we had our first real conversation. I think that was when I first started to see him as a normal person instead of a talking statue. I heard him laugh, albeit that was because he was delirious from blood loss. I saw him blush. He complimented my eyes. And there was that weird pain-attack that is apparently a recurring thing with him.

That conversation was when I started to like him.

After that, I made a point of pulling him into a conversation whenever I got the chance. It attracted a lot of curious looks from the other kids, especially since Wolf actually gave proper answers. That was when he started showing his emotions, and I could finally get a good grip on his personality. He's naturally quiet I think, and a bit insecure because of his stature and the fact he's the oldest kid in the school, and of course kinda clueless. But he's

also pretty sweet, a real-life gentle giant. That is, if you can discard his slight temper. I've noticed that he gets annoyed easily and isn't exactly the most patient guy. Not that I can talk.

And then there was the English project, where I went to his house for the first time. If you can call the Police Station a house. I can clearly remember the confusion when Wolf first stopped in front of the building and told me he lived there. And then came the dawning realisation, if you can call it a dawn when it's shadowed with guilt. When Dr Erland said that there was an orphan in the hospital taking therapy, I didn't know that they were right next door! Didn't these people consider the fact that it might be upsetting to hear a parent and child arguing where someone without a parent to begin with could hear them clearly? God, I'd complained about my dad to Wolf more times than I can count! He'd said it was okay, that he didn't mind, but all I could think about was I'd whined like a small child about my father when he didn't even have one.

Okay, that was a lie, it wasn't _all_ I though about. I'll admit, a significant chunk of my mind was dedicated to the sound of his heart thundering inside his chest and the fact that he was blushing fiercely when I looked up at him.

I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure I know what that particular set of signs means. And every time I think about it, my heart does a little dance in my chest and a stupid grin spreads across my face.

When mine and Dad's counselling session finally ends, I run out of the room and down the hall. Dad shouts something angrily behind me, but I ignore him. Barely a minute ago I heard Wolf leave his room, and I'm determined to catch up to him before he leaves. There's something I want to ask him.

I catch him just as he's opening the front door.

"Wolf!" I shout after him.

He pauses and turns to look at me. A ghost of a smile flashes across his face. "Hey Scarlet. Your session was really quiet today. Are things getting better with your dad?"

I roll my eyes. "I think we're a hopeless case. Dr Erland was just too distracted today to actually do anything, so Dad spent the session texting and I spent it staring at the walls."

This was enough to induce a small laugh.

I smile to myself. So far so good. "Hey, do you have any plans for this afternoon?"

Wolf frowns. "Well, Jacin wanted to talk to me about something."

"Do you think he could wait an hour or so?"

He frowns at me warily. "He seemed pretty serious about what he wanted to talk about…"

"This is Jacin," I remind him with a smirk, "he looks serious when he's telling a joke."

"I guess. But, why are you asking?"  
I shrug, trying to appear nonchalant. "I was just wondering if you'd be up for a walk around town."

Wolf shuffles his feet. "The police want me back home as soon as possible." he tells me apologetically, "They've been really on edge ever since the wolf-attacks restarted."

I wave this off. "Those all happened at night, or at most really late in the evening. A walk won't even take a full afternoon."

Looking unsure, he takes out his phone. "I guess I can ask permission, but no promises."

I try to keep my impatient shifting to a minimum as Wolf texts the police. Judging by the several dings and the way Wolf frowns when he sends his replies, I think they're having a text-argument.

Finally, he puts away his phone, his face expressionless.

"Well?" I ask, trying not to appear too hopeful.

His gaze flicks over to me and the ghost smile returns. "One hour."

**A/N: I'm pretty sure I don't have to say this, but: WOLFLET FANS REJOICE! THERE'S GOING TO BE A LOT NEXT CHAPTER! And for the rest of you who are hating me so much for not giving your favourite ships time in the spotlight, don't worry! I haven't forgotten them, and they will happen!**

**Please review!**


	22. The Walk

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Wolf's POV:

**The Walk**

Everything hurts. The constant pain has grown worse from the dull ache it was originally, slowly but surely growing hotter, crueller. I haven't been getting as many seizures lately, so I guess that's a good thing. Then again, that might be because of the non-stop pain. And I think I know why. Honestly, it doesn't take a genius to figure it out.

Over the past few weeks, I've felt the prison in which I safely secured all my emotions grow cracks and break apart. More and more my feelings have been leaking through. I'm smiling more, I'm scowling more, tears sting my eyes more. I've made a few attempts to reel them back in, to bring them back to that safe space, but, well, honestly they were pretty half-hearted. It's just felt so good to actually _feel _things! True, those feelings come with a fair dose of pain and even more weird looks from my schoolmates as they try to figure out what my deal is and what happened to that weird unresponsive guy from before, but still. Worth it.

Besides, even if I was fully trying to keep my emotions in check, I probably wouldn't succeed. Reason? Scarlet.

I stare at her as she walks beside me. She's smiling and her eyes are bright. She glances at me and a warm flush spreads across my cheeks.

"Were you staring at me just now?" She asks me mockingly.

I shrug, embarrassed at being caught.

Scarlet laughs and punches me lightly in the shoulder. "Don't be creepy!"

I rub the back of my neck. "Sorry."

She laughs again and increases her pace slightly so that she's walking ahead of me. The sunlight catches on her red curls, making them glow like fire and I sigh. What I wouldn't give just to gaze at her all day. To hear her laugh dancing through the air, to look into her warm brown eyes, to have her smile at me, to-

"Hey, can I ask you some personal questions?"  
I blink, trying to rein in my wandering thoughts. "Oh, uh… sure."

Scarlet slows down so she's walking beside me. I stiffen as her fingers lightly touch the inside of my arm, gently tracing a thin white scar that stretches from my wrist to my elbow. Wherever the soft pads of her fingers touch, sparks of pain and pleasure dance beneath my skin.

"Where'd you get all your scars?" she asks, unaware of the change her mere touch created within me. "You avoid conflict at all costs. Well, you also avoid pretty much any human interaction, but you know what I mean."

I gulp, half-wondering how much I can tell her without sounding insane, and half-hoping that my voice will sound normal when I answer."When I was younger, I lived in a pretty rough place. Since I was bigger than most of the other kids, I got challenged to a lot of fights."

"And you actually accepted?"

"They would have attacked me anyway, at least I got time to steady myself if I accepted their challenge. Anyway, I got good at it eventually."

"Do you…" Scarlet hesitates, "like fighting? I saw the look on your face when you were fighting that wolf. It looked like you were enjoying it."

I huff out a breath. "It's hard to explain. I guess I sort of developed a kind-of enjoyment of it? But it's not like the enjoyment I get out of, say, a good book or something. It's more like my brain is forcing a fake happiness on me. If that makes sense." I finish lamely. I don't know how my brain works, that's just my closest guess. Or at least the one that doesn't make me seem like a psychopath.

Scarlet frowns. "I guess I understand. You might want to talk to your therapist about this."

I shake my head. "He signed up to get me to react to stuff, not to help me with my mindset on violence."

"Something tells me the police wouldn't be satisfied by that answer. Speaking of which, have you told them that you sort-of like fighting?"

I raise an eyebrow at her. "You want me to tell a bunch of police officers that I like hurting people?"

She giggles and laces her fingers with mine. Suddenly, I'm fighting to remember how to breath properly.

"Well when you put it _that _way…"

I'm not listening. I'm more focused of the warmth of her fingers pulsing into my hand. Stars, I hope my palm doesn't start sweating.

"Okay, new question! Why do you keep your real name a secret?"

I blink at her. "Um, I don't. Why do you think I do?"

Scarlet turns her face away, a sharp red blush growing rapidly on her cheeks. "Well, I actually asked some other students and they didn't know."

I grunt in surprise. "Guess they forgot. It has been a while since they've heard my real name. Really, the only people who call me it now are the police. Still, I didn't know they'd completely forgotten it."

"Okay, well, what is it?" Scarlet asks impatiently.

"Ze'ev." I tell her simply. "Ze'ev Kesley. The cops call me Z."

"Ze'ev." Scarlet mutters the name under her breath, as though feeling it in her mouth, before looking up and smiling at me. "I like it."

I grin, the compliment catching me by surprise. Usually when people learn my real name they start searching for nicknames that are easier to pronounce. Hearing that someone actually likes it… it's a nice feeling.

Suddenly, Scarlet's brow furrows with confusion and she tilts her head. It doesn't take me long to realise why.

Quickly, I turn my face away from her and press my lips together tightly. Not that it'll do much good at this point. I know how she'll react. And the thought is enough to hammer a chisel into my heart.

"What's wrong?" she asks.

I say nothing. Talking would mean opening my mouth, which would be a very bad idea right now.

Scarlet stops walking, forcing me to stand still beside her. She reaches for my face and I flinch away from her touch. As if that would be enough to deter her. The second time I feel her fingers brash against my lips, I don't resist as she gently tugs them apart, revealing my teeth. Actually, fangs would be more appropriate. Sharp, vicious, deadly fangs.

I see her eyebrows raise is surprise. "Huh. What big teeth you have."

"Very funny." I mumble, pulling out of her reach again.

"So you've got a tattoo and sharp teeth. Anything else I should know about? Like, a tail?"

She chuckles as I throw her a glare. "Relax, I'm kidding. They're just teeth, nothing to be ashamed of."

Okay, that definitely wasn't the reaction I was expecting.

Scarlet checks her watch, her smile melting into an irritated frown. "Your hour's almost up. You better start heading back to the station."

Oh, right. The cops gave me a time limit. I bite back an annoyed growl. I can just imagine all the jokes Scarlet would make if she heard me make a sound like that.

I open my mouth to apologise for having to leave so soon, but Scarlet smiling up at me traps the words in my throat.

"Wanna do this again sometime?" She asks.

"Y-yeah, that would be nice." I stammer out.

Her smile widens, and I feel my ears burn red.

She steps closer to me, and my breath catches. A mischievous glint enters her brown eyes. That is my only warning before she suddenly grabs my shirt and presses her lips to mine.

I can't breathe. I can't think. My heart is frantically jumping around my chest. The constant pain that follows me everywhere flares up to a torturous blaze of agony, burning through my chest, singing my lips and stinging my eyes. Everything hurts. Every part of me is screaming it's pain up to my brain, begging my attention.

But for once, the shrieks are muffled. For once the torment being enacted on my very cells seems like nothing more than background noise against the taste of Scarlet's lips and the smell of her hair.

Closing my eyes, I wrap my arms around her and pull her closer, kissing her back.

**A/N: I think I speak for all of us when I say: FINALLY!**

**Wolflet is now canon in this story. But how will their relationship progress from here? Will Wolf's secrets ruin everything for them? And when will the Kaider, Cresswell and Jacinter kisses happen?**

**Please review!**


	23. Questioning

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Jacin's POV:

**Questioning**

I pace around Wolf's room, cursing the lack of decor. I could really go for a distraction right now, and something tells me Wolf won't appreciate me looking through his books.

My nerves are buzzing with energy, not so much about the talk with Wolf but the talk I had barely ten minutes ago with Cinder, Iko, and Dmitri Erland.

I'd decided to go ahead with the meeting. I figured, what harm could it do? I'm the only werewolf here after all, and it's not like I like Levana. So, why not?

I think being on Earth is affecting my IQ.

"What is the nature of the Royal Palace's defences?" Dr Erland kicked off the questioning.

I told him the truth: there was no way they were breaking in there. "Guards are constantly patrolling the halls, and we are trained to be completely and utterly loyal to the crown. I know I'm not exactly a prime example of that, but in most cases it's true. These guys would lay down their lives for Levana, assuming she doesn't force them to. That's the second purpose of the Royal Guard: We're basically just a bunch of shields, willingly or not. And if the guards don't notice you, the cameras will. Installed in every nook and cranny, you can't wipe your nose in the palace without someone noticing."

"How well are the guards trained?" Cinder asked.

"Well, we're already physically strong. That's one of the three reasons we're chosen. The second is for our easily controlled brains."

"And the third reason?"

"We make good eye-candy for the queen."

Iko snorted with laughter at that. Dr Erland looked a bit annoyed at her childish reaction, but I just waited for her to stop. They wanted me to tell them the truth, I told them the truth.

Eventually, Iko got a hold of herself and Cinder moved on. "For a revolution, we need manpower. Do you know any communities that are unhappy with Levana's rule?"

I snorted. "You could say that. Pretty much all of the communities except the main city hate the vampire regime. They're living in poverty and dying of regolith poisoning while the elves and vampires of Artemisia basically live their lives in one giant party."

I distinctly remember Cinder shooting a look at Dr Erland before asking me, "Aren't those all werewolf communities?"

"Yeah."

She definitely flashed Erland a smug look at that.

He ignored it. "What about the Alpha family? Do they support Levana?"

I spat disdainfully at the floor. I don't bother to hide the disgust in my voice as I reply, "They're more of an Omega family now. Our Alpha is such a kiss-up to the royal family. It's enough to make you sick just watching him. We don't even have an Alpha female, though we've had a good many false alarms." I shook my head in dismay. "The idiot's got a way with women."

Iko tilted her head. "I thought werewolves could overthrow their Alpha anytime."

"We can. We just don't want to." I told her. "Being Alpha sucks, even if you do have three meals a day. Most of us think that it's just not worth it."

Cinder waved all this aside impatiently. "That's beside the point. The point is, of the werewolves the only ones that actually support Levana are her guards and their Alpha. That makes them possible allies. Is there a way we can broadcast a message to all of the werewolf communities?"

"Every house, or should I say hovel, has a TV screen for sending out propaganda messages, and there are several large screens posted all over the sectors for the same reason. Good luck hacking into them though. The security on their broadcasting system is crazy."

"We'll figure something out." Cinder assured me.

"It'd better be something that works." I muttered.

Iko grinned confidently. "It will. We're good at coming up with plans."

I had to fight the urge to laugh at that.

A sudden knock on the door jars me out of my thoughts. I glare at the tall boy who enters the room.

"Took you long enough." I grumble. "I thought I'd end up spending the night."

"Something else came up." Wolf explained.

I study his face. Is it just me, or does he actually look… happy? His eyes are glittering in a way I've never seen them before, and I could almost swear he was smiling a little.

Wolf leans against the wall. "So, what did you want to talk about?" Okay, his tone was definitely brighter than usual there.

"You remember when we first met, and I told you the name of that werewolf you beat up?" I ask.

He tilts his head. "Kind of. Jerrico right?"  
"Right. Thing is, he was Captain of the Royal Guard and by default the strongest member."

"Okay…" Wolf says, his cheerful manner giving way to wariness.

I decide I'd better just cut to the chase. "Since you're obviously stronger than him, the Queen wants you to join her guard and she sent me to fetch you."  
Wolf crosses his arms and narrows his eyes at me. "What if I say no?"

I shake my head. "Sorry, not an option."

"So, what, you're going to drag me by my feet to Artemisia?"

"If I have to."

I take a step forward. Wolf bares his teeth and growls at me. I take another step. He barks at me, sharp and threatening. Another step.

There's a sharp "pop" and Wolf hisses in pain, clutching his right shoulder. It's sitting at an awkward angle and swelling beneath his fingers.

My eyes widen with shock as I stare at the limb. Wolf just glares at me and holds his arm out, setting his shoulder back into place. He moves it experimentally, wincing slightly.

I reconstruct my face, eliminating all traces of surprise. I stalk past Wolf and out the door, calling over my shoulder, "I'd watch your back if I were you."

Wolf just growls in reply.

Only when I leave the police station do I let my face contort into a worried scowl. Limbs don't just dislocate for no reason, any moron can tell you that. But the reason behind Wolf's shoulder dislocating is far more worrying than the normal ways. Assuming I'm right about the cause, and I almost certainly am, his days are severely numbered.

**A/N: Finally, Jacin does his job.**

**Beating up Jerrico has finally caught up to Wolf, but he's not ready to deal with the consequences. Will Jacin be able to fulfil his mission? Why are Wolf's days numbered?**

**Please review!**


	24. Sick

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Wolf's POV:

**Sick**

I have even more trouble dragging myself out of bed than usual today, mostly because I was really, really tired. I didn't get so much as a wink of sleep last night. I know, that's "not possible" and I "fell asleep but didn't realise it", but I really didn't fall asleep. I know because I checked the time regularly, and I didn't miss more than half an hour between checks.

I guess one of the reasons I couldn't sleep was because I was still buzzing from my kiss with Scarlet. My mouth tugs into an involuntary smile just thinking about it. I know I shouldn't have done it, given the fact that I have seizures and am not even the same species as her, but that doesn't seem to matter anymore. I've kissed her, and I know that I would probably do it again. Will do it again, if Scarlet wants.

I feel my smile widen, and I finally step out of bed. And immediately collapse onto the floor as pain shoots through my knee. I glare furiously at the joint, cursing it for swelling and turning that worrying shade of purple. Growling with frustration, I pulled myself up on the bed so I was sitting on the mattress, stuck my injured leg in the air and bent the knee. With a pop, the joint slid back into place. I watched as the swelling went down and the bruising faded at an abnormal rate, until it looked as though my knee had never left it's designated spot.

I huffed and stood again, warily testing my legs. When they held, I made my way over to my closet.

That's the other (and maybe even bigger) reason I couldn't sleep. All night my joints were randomly popping out of place for no reason. At some point, I just became way too tired to set them back myself and, after a few minutes of searing pain in the dislocated joint, it just shoved itself back into place without me having to do anything. I'm no doctor, but I'm pretty sure joints aren't supposed to dislocate and set themselves right all on their own for no reason.

I open the door of the closet and grab a black t-shirt from its hanger. I slip it over my head and casually glance in the mirror built into the closet door. A yelp of surprise escapes my mouth and I jump back, away from the image that was supposedly me. The face staring back at me has my face, my messy brown hair and my olive skin, but those things sticking out from the back of my head most certainly don't belong to me.

Slowly, I reach up and touch them, just to make sure my brain isn't playing tricks on me. Instead of the smooth skin of my ears, my fingers brush against soft fur.

I groan, and the furry triangular ears in my reflection droop. Now my form won't even stay fully human. Whatever this is, I really hope it ends soon.

After I've dressed (and changed my ears back to normal), I head down to the meeting room for breakfast. The police are all already down there, though they haven't touched their plates of buttered toast and fried eggs. Their low, serious voices are a far cry from their usual cheerful morning chatter.

I raise an eyebrow at the morose atmosphere but don't comment, instead opting to grab Grant's plate of eggs and bacon from under his steepled arms. He just keeps speaking as if nothing happened. "This is the third attack so far, and in broad daylight to boot! These things are definitely getting bolder."

"But how are we supposed to deal with a bunch of animals?" Jane exclaims, "It's not like we can just slap a pair of handcuffs on their forelegs and take them to court!"

I lower my eyes and quietly start eating. They're talking about the wolves again. Not that they ever call them wolves. It's always "things", "beasts", "animals". I can't help but wonder what they would do if they found out I was the same species as them. Something tells me it will involve me looking through bars on the wrong side of a cell door.

The door swings open, slamming against the wall with a loud bang, stopping the conversation in its tracks.

The chief strides in, rubbing his hands and eying the food hungrily. "Alright breakfast! I'm starving!"

Grant looks down at the space where his plate used to be. "Hey! Where's my breakfast?"

I shrug. "Well, you weren't eating it."

"You know, I can arrest you for stealing my breakfast." He warns with a malicious grin

I smirk back. "You should have thought of that before I came down here."

"Hold up!" the chief bellows, pointing at me. "Did you just smile?"

I don't reply. I'm just trying to push the pointing finger away from my face. I'm worried it will take my eye out.

"Hey, yeah, he did smile!"

"When was the last time that happened?"

"Er, I don't think it did."

I groan and stand up from the table. Great, now they're talking about me. "I'm going to get ready for school."

"Okay! We'll tell Dr Pine that you smiled!" Grant calls cheerfully after me.

I roll my eyes. I smell an hour of listening to my therapist reading a joke book out loud.

I'm literally a step away from the doorway when I hear the pop and my left thigh goes numb. With a yelp, I lose my balance and fall over, my dislocated leg bending at an awkward angle.

Shouts of surprise and the screech of chair's being pushed along the floor fill my ears, making me wince.

Gritting my teeth and closing my eyes, I push myself back up onto my feet, ignoring the dead weight of my leg as it drags uselessly on the floor.

Someone grabs my shoulder. My nose twitches, picking out their scent from all the others crowding around me. My ears perk as their voice, shrill with fear and worry, rings through the air. I open my eyes, and the colours of the world around me seem sharp and bright.

Someone grabs my chin and tilts my face upward. "His pupils are a weird shape. Look at them!"  
"Do you think he's sick?"  
"Z, your leg's dislocated, try not to put any weight on it."

A whine escapes my throat in a tone that's not at all human. My muscles seem to be tightening and loosening rapidly and randomly. I can feel my bones shifting around inside me, can hear the subtle clicks and snaps as the find new places to rest.

I feel my heart start to pound, though I can't tell if it's from panic or what's happening inside me. My eyes widen with panic as I recognise all of the subtle feelings I'd nearly forgotten.

Panic grips me and I break free of the huddle of police officers surrounding me, ignoring their cries for me to come back. I run as fast as my injured leg will allow out the front door of the station and hurriedly cut through a nearby alley, scrambling into a shadowy corner. I watch, breathless with fear, as what seems like the entire staff of the police station tear past the alley and out onto the street.

**A/N: Well. That just happened.**

**Something's serious is going on with Wolf, but what? And will he recover?**

**Please review!**


	25. Strange Things

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Thorne's POV:

**Strange Things**

Well, my life has certainly taken a turn for the weird lately.

First there was that party. Since when do wild animals attack a large group of humans? I thought they were supposed to be "just as scared of us as we are of them" or "only attack when provoked" or something.

Then, that new kid, Jacin (or as I like to call him, Jerk-cin) showed up completely out of the blue. I pride myself on knowing all the students in our rival schools, and Jacin sure as spades ain't one of them. I guess he could have just moved here, but whenever I, or anyone else from that matter, asks where he's from, he just gets all defensive. Aces man, we just want to know where you live! What's your damage?

This isn't really right up there with in the weird-factor, but Wolf's been acting very unlike himself. Which is to say, he's been acting more like a normal human being. I even saw him smile! Wolf! Smiling! I was worried that I had food poisoning and was hallucinating! Spades know it's happened before. Man, was that a crazy afternoon…

Talking of Wolf, that brings me to weird-event no.1: he's disappeared. Just straight up vanished off the face of the Earth. The cops are freaking out. Maybe his parents work with them. Must be nice, having parents that care about you… but I digress.

The missing posters started showing up on Monday. They've even stuck them up on the school notice board. Pretty much everyone walks right past them because, well, it's Wolf. If not for the fact that he was a freaking giant you wouldn't even know he exists. I've seen Kai give it a few glances, and Scarlet always gives it a good long look for some reason, but they're pretty much the only ones. Personally, I don't see what they're so worried about. Wolf's pretty much made of muscle, and if those scars are anything to go by he's gotten himself out of plenty of scrapes. He's probably finally just cracked and ran off away from all the nasty bright vitality of civilisation.

A loud rapping on my desk snaps me back to the present. Which kinda sucks because in the present my math teacher is looking at me like he's just sucked on a lemon. "Carswell, I would thank you to actually pay attention in class."

I smirk and lean back in my chair. "How do you know I wasn't hanging off your every word?"

"Tell me what I just said." He challenges me.

I clear my throat and say in a very serious voice. "Numbers, numbers, numbers, fractions, numbers, multiplication, division, numbers, solution."

Around me, the class erupts into laughter and my teacher's face turns a very interesting shade of red. "Quiet! All of you be quiet! Don't make me give you extra homework!"

Magic words. The class falls silent.

Satisfied that there would be no more interruptions, the teacher heads up to the front of the class and continues to drone on about whatever methods we were supposed to be learning.

I just tune his irritating voice out and start doodling on the pages of my exercise book. What? It's not like I'm actually going to use this stuff.

"You know, you're going to flunk the year if you're not careful." Says a snarky voice.

I grin and look over at the person next to me. "Well, unlike some people, I'm not planning to become a mechanic when I graduate."

Cinder smirks. "I think you mean, _if _you graduate."

"Please, I don't have to pay attention to all of my math classes to pass exams."

"Oh, I wasn't talking about your work ethic. I was talking about your IQ."

I clasp one hand to my chest in mock shock. "Cinder, how could you? I'm plenty smart!"  
She snorts. "Tell that to the "F" you got in history."

"I would've gotten an "A", they just couldn't cope with my creativity."

"You called Hitler "Evil Charlie Chaplin"!"

"Come on, you can't argue that he was!" 

Cinder rolls her eyes and continues taking notes from the board. I shoot it a half-hearted glance as well. It's filled with random numbers and weird looking "x"s. Why am I not surprised?

"Do you think that all this stuff with the wolves will end up in the history books?" I ask Cinder suddenly.

She shrugs, resolutely staring ahead at the teacher. "Perhaps. They are a new species of wolf after all."

"Wait, they are?"

She gives me a look. "Thorne, they are the size of adult humans and their fur and eyes are weird colours. Of course they're a new species!"

I raise my hands in surrender. "Spades, alright! How am I supposed to know what looks weird for a wolf?"

"Gee, I don't know, how about the fact that it's common knowledge what a wolf looks like?" Cinder retorted scathingly.

I roll my eyes at her irritation. "You're getting way too worked up about this. New species or not, they're just animals."

"Yeah, animals that kill people!"

"Well, they have to eat don't they?"

"They don't eat the people they kill moron, they just leave them there."

"Well, they ate Wolf." I snort in bitter amusement, "A wolf eating Wolf."

Cinder's pencil clatters to the floor and she gapes at me in pure horror. "How can you think about that so… unconcernedly?"

"Hey, I'm concerned and all, but it's Wolf. Most of the time he acts like he doesn't exist."  
"Oh, so that makes him dying all right?" Cinder snaps.

I groan in frustration. "No, it doesn't, and that's not what I meant. I just meant that it's hard to be upset about it. Don't pretend you don't feel the same way, I know he creeps you out!"

Cinder glares at me, but doesn't reply.

"Besides, it's just a theory. He might not have been eaten by a wolf." I mutter, still grouchy from the argument.

"That still isn't an excuse for acting so flippant about it." Cinder says sternly.

I have to laugh at that. "Honestly Cinder, it's like you've never met me! You know I'd tell a joke at my own grandpa's funeral!"

She smirks. "Can't argue with that."

"Okay that's it!" The teacher shrieks from the front of the class. He points at Cinder and I with a shaking finger. "I want you two to do two extra pages of exercises tonight. Maybe that'll teach you not to talk in class!"

"Stupid lemon-eater." I mutter under my breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

**A/N: Sorry about the nothing chapter. I promise, things will start to get exciting again next week. Plus, I just really wanted to write more Cinder and Thorne. These guys are my BrOTP **** . **

**Please review!**


	26. The Search

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Jacin's POV:

**The Search**

I stare out the window of my "house". If I squint, I can just make out the "missing" poster nailed to a nearby tree, and the serious face in the picture. I've seen it so many times already, I could probably trace it from memory: the dark, serious face, the spikes of wild brown hair, and the guarded look in those bright green eyes.

At school, the attitude towards Wolf's sudden disappearance seems to range from complete indifference to mild concern. Some people have acted like they're truly worried about his wellbeing, but I've seen enough attention hogs to know an act when I see one. Personally, I'm not the least bit worried. I know for a fact that nothing bad has happened to him. Seriously, I tell the guy that the Queen wants him as her newest guard dog and then he suddenly vanishes? Am I supposed to believe that's a coincidence? Hmph, yeah right. Well I'm not going to let him get away with his little vanishing act anymore.

I grab a jacket from the bed post and pull it over my shoulders before walking out my "room". As I walk down the stairs, I can't help but glance up at the pictures hanging from the walls. Pictures of a family. A family with a little blond boy with ice blue eyes. There are pictures of the boy playing in the sandbox, having a bath (who wants to see a five-year-old have a bath?), playing on the swings, holding up rubbish pieces of art that his parents undoubtedly told him were masterpieces, all the nice little happy cliché stuff.

I snort and look away. As if I'd ever smile like that because of a sandbox. And for the record, my dad isn't bald! And my mother is ginger, not brunette! I swear, if the vampires going to give me a fake childhood on Earth, can they at least make it believable?

I can't seem to get to the front door fast enough as I step outside into the cool night air.

"The police station would probably be a good place to start." I mutter to myself, and head over in that direction.

When I eventually arrive, I crouch down and sniff at the sidewalk. A flurry of unfamiliar scents greets me, and I growl in frustration as I try to pick out Wolf's among the mess. I detect a small hint of his scent, mixed in with all the dogs that had been walked across this particular path. It's faint though, he probably hasn't passed this way since he ran off. Still, it's a start.

I take another good, long sniff, again fighting to tell apart the mixture of smells. I walk along the sidewalk turning into a nearby alley, where I catch a slightly stronger smell in a small secluded corner. It's a bit muskier for some reason, but I dismiss it. It's probably just some stray dog that made its home here for a while. Damn this crowded city and its many life forms!

Gritting my teeth with frustration, I shift my face slightly. Short, sharp clicks echo in my ears as my skull lengthens into a muzzle.

I give my head an involuntary shake as I get used to my new face. I glance around, my eyes now seeing as clearly as if it were day.

I inhale deeply through my new nose, the flurry of scents that had served to do nothing but frustrate me before now easily distinguishable from each other. And that includes Wolf's.

Picking up his scent trail, I make my way out of the alley corner and out onto the street. I look up and down the road. I decide to keep my face wolfish for now, since I highly doubt I'll pick anything up in my human form. Besides, it's practically midnight! What idiot would be out and about now? Well, apart from me.

It's slow progress, tracking Wolf's scent. From what I can gather, he's been constantly on the move since he ran away, something that probably made sense to him but just makes my job about ten times harder, which is probably the point now that I think about it. After ducking into the stars know how many secluded corners of civilisation only to come right out again, I finally arrive at what I seriously hope is my final destination: The park.

The scent trail leads me away from the main path to a copse of trees. In the daytime, a scenic little feature and an ideal place for, I don't know, a picnic or something. At night though, it's a decent hiding spot.

I walk into the shadows of the tall trunks, away from the light of the stars and moon (or what little I can see of them. Earth's light pollution is terrible!). I try to keep my footfalls light, cursing the soft, rustling grass under my feet.

Eventually, I reach a sort of clearing where the moonlight can finally break through the tree canopy and illuminate the ground, as well as the thing sleeping on the ground.

I blink and sniff the air, trying to make sure I didn't make a mistake. But there's Wolf's scent, as plain as day. Still, I expected that when I eventually found him, he'd be in human form. Instead, I'm looking at an enormous wolf, with course fur partly covered by torn clothes, ridiculously long claws and sharp fangs that I can make out even as it sleeps.

I heave a sigh. My life just got a whole lot harder.

I take a moment to shift my face back to human before kicking Wolf roughly in his giant shoulder. His eyes snap open and in half a second he's scrambled to his paws. When his green gaze snaps over to me, his lips pull back, revealing the full deadly glory of his lupine fangs, and a growl rumbles in his chest.

"Pretty sure you already know why I'm here so can we just skip that explanation?" I ask dryly.

Wolf only growls louder.

"Look, I can understand why you're reluctant to serve the queen, but it's either come with me now or wait for some other soldier to be sent to kill you. Levana doesn't like it when people defy her, so unless your suicidal, you haven't really got much of a choice."

A sharp bark is my only answer.

I throw back my head and groan. "You're even more thick-headed than I thought. You do realise that if you refuse, you're going to be up against several werewolves who don't know the meaning of mercy."

Wolf tosses his head haughtily, as if to say that he could take a pack of werewolves. Stars, what an idiot.

"Okay, so you're clearly too dense to understand words," I mutter, "so I'll try convincing you another way."

Sharp pain flares up my limbs as the bones break apart and shift underneath my skin, slotting themselves into new positions. I fall forward, my arms and legs bending and stretching. My skin tingles as blond fur grows all over my body, and a tail grows at the base of my spine. The ripping of fabric tears at my ears as my clothes tear around my new shape.

I give myself a quick shake and narrow my eyes at the other, much bigger wolf before me. _You first. _

With a snarl, Wolf bounds forward and snaps at one of my forelegs. I jump back just in time and pounce onto his back, dragging my claws down his sides. I'm rewarded by his pained howl, but before I can feel even the slightest glow of pride, he falls backwards, pinning me underneath him.

I gasp as the wind gets knocked out of my, barely registering the absence of weight keeping me pinned to the ground. A weight that quickly comes back, this time with claws digging into my chest and a snout full of fangs growling down at me.

I reach for his face, trying to catch him with my claws, but he simply pulls out of reach. Instead of drawing blood, the worst I do is tug out a clump of fur.

Okay, so being conservative isn't working. Time to switch tactics.

Lunging forward, I bite down hard on Wolf's shoulder. Blood flows into my mouth and my opponent howls in pain. Emboldened, I rake my claws across his broad shoulders, and the howling grows louder.

For one brief, hopeful moment, I think that I'm winning. That I can actually bring down this giant.

Turns out, it was just a moment of stupidity.

Wolf's longer, sharper claws drag across my stomach. I feel my fur grow damp with my own blood as my flesh tears. Fast as a snake, he lunges for my throat, sinking his teeth into the base.

My attacks grow frantic as I struggle to push Wolf off me, but I might as well be pushing off a rock. A rock that is simultaneously tearing me to shreds.

The scent of blood fills my nose as it drips around my neck and around the gashes in my stomach. The colours of the world around me seem to blur together. I have trouble telling the difference between Wolf's bulky form and the surrounding trees. My struggles turn into no more than feeble pushes to get away from my attacker. Darkness closes around my vision, and the last thing I see is Winter, blood pouring from her scars as if they were fresh, crying and reaching out for me.

And then there's nothing.

**A/N: Fight scene! **

**Now we know where Wolf is, and that Jacin isn't going to be dragging him off to Luna anytime soon. Will Jacin be okay? Will Levana send soldiers to kill Wolf like Jacin predicted?**

**Please review!**


	27. Blood

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Winter's POV:

**Blood**

I sit straight as a pole in my seat, more out of habit than anything, and regard the man cowering in the centre of the room.

"You want to be able to keep more of the crops you harvest?" My stepmother asks him. Her voice is quiet, like a snake's hiss.

The man gulps and tries to sink himself further down to the floor. "M-my queen, please hear me out. We're starving out in our villages. I-if we were allowed to keep at least s-some of our harvest, then we would be able to work harder."

Levana taps her fingers against the armrest of her throne, as if she's considering his words. The man notices this too, and for the first time a spark of hope enters his sunken eyes.

My heart aches with pity. I've seen this look on my stepmother before, many times over. And I know exactly what it means.

Levana tilts her head, regarding the man with her right eye. "Luna could always use some more hard-workers…"

The man sucks in a quick breath.

"…but I believe I have a much more effective method of motivation than food."

I wince as the man's face, only moments ago disbelieving and almost happy, goes pale with fear. "M-my queen?"

My stepmother ignores him and turns to the tall dark-haired woman standing next to her throne. "Send more thaumaturges over to this man's village." She orders, "Clearly these residents need more motivation, and I don't believe food will quite suffice."

The woman smiles and bows deeply. "Of course, My Queen."

The man's mouth is opening and closing, though not a word passes through his lips. He looks at my stepmother, gazing down at him disdainfully. He looks at the woman, still smiling at Levana's order. He looks at me.

I turn my face away from him so he can't see the pain I know is written so clearly there. If he sees, he will run up to me. He will fall down at my feet and beg and plead with me to change the queen's mind. He will beg and plead until Levana grows tired of his sorrow and orders one of the guards to kill him.

I want to help him, so much. I want to give all of my meals to his village so that the small children may eat. I want to sew them blankets out of the dresses the servants throw away when the nobles grow tired of them. I want to build them proper houses out of strong stone with a fireplace and a second floor and bedrooms and a nursery. But I cannot. Levana would never allow it. She prefers to keep the villages weak and starving, living in what is practically slavery to the higher species in Artemisia, Luna's capital.

Conditions in the villages didn't become so horrible because of her. As far as I know, it's always been this way, regardless of the different sovereigns that have ruled Luna over the centuries. But still, every time I think of the thousands of people starving to death while I live here with a full stomach and snacks whenever I want them… it feels as though an icicle is being driven through my heart.

Levana turns to the guards. "Take him away."

They nod and grab the man by his shoulders. He struggles and kicks as they drag him away, begging and pleading for a second chance, but they're too strong and Levana isn't about to give him that chance.

I can't take it anymore. I shut my eyes, trying to dream myself away from the throne room, to a place where I can't hear the man's cries for help, where I can't see Levana's cold expression.

The door slams and I jump, keeping my eyes firmly closed.

"Are there any more people I need to see today?" I hear Levana's voice say.

"A few, My Queen." The woman at her side replies, "But we can always dismiss them if you wish."

"Ask them what they want ahead of time. If they want the same thing as the ones I've already seen, dismiss them with the same orders. If not, let them in to see me."

I can imagine the woman dipping her head respectfully to my stepmother. I listen to the click of her shoes against the polished floor as she heads for the door. I wait for the tell-tale creak of the heavy wooden slabs opening for her. Instead, all I hear is a loud bang.

Startled, I open my eyes to see a group of guards rushing into the room, a wolf carried between them. Unceremoniously, they throw it to the floor, where it slides to the foot of my stepmother's throne, leaving a slick trail of blood in its wake.

I feel my face turn pale as I look at the wolf. I want to shut my eyes against the scene, but my eyelids aren't cooperating, forcing me to look at the white-blond wolf lying in front of me, and the blood staining his fur pink. His eyes are open just a sliver, and are clouded with pain, but I can still make out their ice-blue colour.

Levana raises an elegant eyebrow in disdain. "It seems that Sir Clay failed in his mission."

"We found him in a place the humans call, "a park"." One of the guards says. "The fur caught between his claws is definitely werewolf fur, but we can't identify who it belongs to."

"I suppose you would want me to send him to be healed immediately Winter?" Levana asks me in a bored voice.

I don't answer. I still haven't processed the scene in front of me. Jacin, my oldest and best friend, the one who's stuck up for me and protected me all these years, is now lying on the floor bleeding from a hundred wounds. The faint rise and fall of his chest is all that tells me he is alive, thank the stars. A future without Jacin's constant comforting figure in it is just unfathomable! Probably because it wouldn't exist. All these years, Jacin is the thing that has kept me going for so long. His steady voice dispersing my visions, the roll of his eyes at my antics, and his smile, the one I so rarely see, that is like the rising sun.

Shaking, I stand up from my seat and stumble over to Jacin's prone body, falling gracelessly to my knees beside him. I wrap my arms around his neck and bury my face into his fur.

"I'll take that as a yes." Levana says behind me. "Guards! Take him to one of the suspended animation tanks for healing, if you can pry my useless stepdaughter away from him."

I save them the trouble. Taking one last deep breath of Jacin's blood-mixed scent, I let him go, watching longingly as the guards pick him up once again and carry him out of the room. My dress and face are covered in blood, as is the floor. And the walls. Blood is dripping down the walls in a great red flood, pooling onto the floor and filling the room with its stench.

A sob tears through my throat and I shut my eyes, willing the vision to disappear. I long to hear Jacin's voice telling me that it's not real, it's all in my head.

But I don't.

**A/N: Bet you guys weren't expecting to hear from Winter!**

**Finally are favourite insane princess has her own chapter.**

**Please review!**


	28. The Reveal

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Jacin's POV:

**The Reveal**

You know what sucks about suspended animation? Waking up from it. Literally, everything slows down during the process, so you kinda feel like a slug, and the gel they cover you in definitely doesn't help to reverse the feeling.

A frustrated groan shoves past my closed lips as I struggle to open my eyes. It feels like my eyelids are made of lead.

When I eventually open them, I have to force myself not to blink against the harsh, blinding light of the healing room. Stars know if I did blink I'd have to force my eyes open again.

Finding whatever scraps of strength I have left in my muscles, I shove myself up into a sitting position. I glance down at my hand. It's human. The elves must have changed my form before sticking me in this tank. It probably would have been awkward to coordinate the life-supports systems to the requirements of a wolf.

"Welcome back, Sir Clay." A blank voice says from the doorway.

I stare blearily at the speaker, trying to gather my fuzzy thoughts together enough to figure out his name. "Kinney, isn't it?"

He dips his head. Huh. I didn't think I actually got it right.

"You were in a pretty bad way when we found you." He tells me, "That other werewolf seems fierce."

I chuckle bitterly. "Well, I was trying to force him to do something against his will. It's not exactly surprising."

Kinney smirks at this.

I rub my face to try and wake myself up, accidentally smearing myself with gel. Great, just what I need, more slime.

"Sorry to spring this on you just after waking up, but Her Majesty has requested for your presence, effective as soon as you are healed." Kinney says, a slight hint of guilt to his voice.

My first instinct is to scowl, but my mind's cleared enough by now to know that that is probably a bad idea, so I settle for working the kinks out of my shoulders. "Any chance that I might get a new uniform before I meet the queen? All I've got right now is a towel."

Kinney's mouth twitches into an amused smile. "I'll have one of the servants go get one. Oh, and one more thing."

"Yes?" I prompt, trying not to sound annoyed. What is it this time? A thaumaturge is heading to one of the villages and needs a private guard? The Alpha needs someone to pretend to lose to him in a fight? A maid broke one of the queen's necklaces and needs to have her fingers chewed off (thank the stars I wasn't the unlucky mutt who got that honour)?

"Princess Winter wants to know that she hopes you get better soon, and that she's missed you very much."

As I step into the Throne Room, I find it harder to compose my face than usual. My time away must have made me sloppy. My face is desperately trying to twitch into a frown as I walk towards the throne.

I drop to one knee in a bow. "Your majesty."

"Sir Clay," Levana says, "care to explain to me how you failed in your mission to bring back a single refugee so spectacularly?"

"The werewolf was too strong for me My Queen. If I had others to help me-"

"If you need others to help you bring down one mutt then you are a useless member of my guard." Levana declares.

I grit my teeth. "My Queen, Captain Solis also failed to apprehend this werewolf, even when he was a wolf and the refugee was a human. My battle against him was wolf against wolf."

"I am well aware of Jerrico's failure." Levana says coldly, "But Jerrico didn't know what he was dealing with. You were perfectly well prepared for this battle. You've had battle training, which this rogue, I must assume, does not. You should have been able to outwit this beast."

""That beast" was a werewolf and therefore naturally gifted in combat." I remind her, "He was strong and big, and I couldn't hope to overpower him."

"Strange." Levana pretends to muse, "I could've sworn that my guards were trained to bring down opponents like the one you describe."

My eye twitches. As Levana full-well knows, guards are given a very simple, very straightforward instruction in combat that doesn't include fancy complicated things like defeating opponents who are going to win no matter what you do. We are shields for Levana, nothing more. But telling her that would just get me killed faster, so I opt to keep my mouth shut.

Levana sits back on her throne. "If you have nothing more to show me that a handful of pitiful excuses, then your mission was a failure. And do you know what I do to those that fail me?"  
"I did find out something while I was on Earth." I blurt out.

Levana raises and interested eyebrow, but doesn't comment.

I hesitate. What I'm about to tell her could very well eliminate the one hope Luna has for a better future. But if I don't tell her, what will happen to Winter? I know for a fact that several of the guards here aren't the most interested in her safety, and I've seen enough leers from the nobility to last a lifetime. Call me selfish, or small-minded or whatever, but Winter's safety is worth more to me than anyone else on Luna.

With an inward sigh, I tell the queen, "Princess Selene Channary Jannali Blackburn is alive, and living on Earth."

Levana's reaction is almost funny. In a heartbeat, she's up on her feet, shaking with anger, and giving me the most heated glare I can ever remember receiving. "You dare to spread conspiracy theories about my niece?"

"It's not a conspiracy." I tell her calmly. "I've even met her, officially. She has a small group of revolutionaries and their aim is to take the throne from you and give it to Selene."  
"It's probably just a vampire using Selene's name as a pseudonym to gather followers." Levana scoffs.

I shrug. "I would agree with you My Queen, if the vampire in question didn't happen to look pretty much exactly like Channary. Either way, there's a revolution brewing on Earth, and she's the leader."

Levana's hands are clenched into fists and her cheeks are blotched a furious red. I half expect her to finally lose control and drop the illusion of her appearance, finally revealing her true face. But instead she raises her head and hisses. "I will send one of the thaumaturges to deal with this vampire who's posing as my dead niece. This revolution will be history by an Earthen morning."

**A/N: Oh Jacin… what have you done?**

**Levana knows about the revolution and is ready to do something about it. Will Cinder make it through?**

**Please review!**


	29. Panic and Rage

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Scarlet's POV:

**Panic and Rage**

I am pretty much always on the verge of panic at this point. Giant wolf attacks seem to be happening every day, and they're starting to claim casualties. Sometimes they strike at night, sometimes in the day, sometimes at twilight, I swear it's like these things never sleep. Normally, I'd feel safe-ish because I have a gun tucked in my waistband, but dear old Dad decided that I shouldn't have it and locked it in the apartment safe. I remember him yelling at me, "Women shouldn't have guns! They should have frying pans!" Ugh, what a sexist. Though it was very satisfying to hit him with a frying pan.

I've been trying to crack the code on the safe and get my gun back for weeks, but so far no luck. If I didn't know for a fact that Dad was a total moron, I'd think he was changing the code every day.

Not having my gun alone would have been enough to freak me out, but to pile on to that, my boyfriend is missing. Huh. It still feels weird to think of Wolf like that. I guess because we shared a total of one kisses before he up and vanished. I'll admit, I'm a little annoyed about that but mainly I'm worried. As far as I know, Wolf had no reason at all to run away. He seemed happy enough when I last saw him, and the police were nice to him. From what I can gather, they view Wolf like he's a nephew, or maybe a younger brother. And they obviously care for him, judging from the way they've been freaking out. A part of me wonders if I was the reason the he ran away. Which of course makes no sense, I didn't do anything wrong! I think… no, I definitely didn't do anything wrong. So what gives his sudden disappearance?

I think I'd be dealing with all this better if I had someone to vent to. But I don't know any of the kids at school well enough to feel comfortable telling them, my therapist's job is to help me and Dad get along, not to listen to my rantings, Dad is a jerk and I can't talk to Grand-mère without my phone (which Dad still hasn't given back. I did mention that this guy's a jerk, right?). But I have to talk to someone, otherwise I might just explode from frustration! Which I why I'm stuck scribbling a letter to Grand-mère, a letter which I'm probably going to have to wait weeks to get an answer to.

I raise my head to look out the window and smirk to myself. The sun's only just setting. I have plenty of time before Dad drags himself out of the bar. If I'm careful, I might just get away with writing these letters. After all, what's Dad going to do? Throw all the paper and pens into the trash? Cancel his mail account? Really the only thing he can possibly do to stop me is steal the letters themselves, and he can't exactly do that when he's not he-

"What are you doing?"

I start in surprise. Since when was Dad home by sundown?

"Don't you have an appointment with a bottle of alcohol?" I growl at him.

Dad strides forward and snatches the paper up, ignoring my cry of protest. I jump to my feet and try to snatch the paper away from him, but he's holding it just above my reach. I grab his arm, trying to pull it down so I can grab the letter, but Dad just shoves me away and I end up tumbling to the floor. I scramble to my feet, but it's too late. Dad's lowered the letter, and has fixed me with a glare.

"You were trying to write to your grandmother?" He shouts at me.

I jut out my chin defiantly. "Yeah, so?"  
"She's not your guardian anymore Scarlet! I am!"

"And why does that forbid me from talking to her?" I spit back, "It's not like you care about me, no matter how much you bring up what you pay to feed me or whatever."

"Oh, would you rather I let you starve? Would you rather I root through bins to get you clothes? Would you rather I home-school you instead of paying for your education?" He hisses.

I let out a sharp bark of laughter. "You say that as if you actually do any of those things! Do you remember how you treated me when I first lived with you? I do. I remember having to borrow some of my friends' lunches because you couldn't be bothered to pack me one! I remember having to go and buy my own clothes because you wouldn't buy new ones for me! And I went to a public school! I still go to a public school! You don't pay anything for my education!"

Dad throws his hands up in frustration. "I don't know why I even bother with you! It's not like you're doing anything worthwhile!"

"Oh, would you rather I get a job and buy all your food and clothes and cook you dinner and clean your apartment while you laze around on the couch drinking beer?" I reply scathingly.

"I would rather you were more grateful! Here I am, practically feeding you money with all I pay on you."

"You've never spent so much as a dime on me in your miserable life! Why did you even bring me back here if I take so much out of your bank account? You could have just left me on the farm with Grand-mère!"

"If I'd known the welfare payments were so small I'd have done just that!"

I blink at him in bewilderment. "Welfare payments?"

Dad glares at me. "The government gives money to single parents to help them take care of their kids. Since my job doesn't pay squat, I figured claiming that would help me along. Unfortunately, I had to actually have my kid in my custody, which is why I'm stuck with you and your constant complaining."

I clench my fists at my sides and open my mouth, but nothing comes out. My mind is filled with a red cloud of fury, fogging over my thoughts. Not a single coherent word forms within that crackling red haze. If they did, they'd probably scorch my tongue once I spoke them.

A strangled cry of rage tears through my throat and I shove Dad aside, ignoring his outraged protests as I throw open the door.

By the time I register the angry tears sliding down my cheeks, I'm far away from the apartment. I swipe at them furiously with one hand and glance around my surroundings, but nothing is familiar. Great, just what I need. I'm lost.

Tired and frustrated, I aim a kick at a nearby lamppost, but all that does is hurt my foot. Not helping my mood.

"What's wrong?"

I raise my head to glare at the person who'd spoken. A beautiful woman with warm honeyed skin and long black hair that shines in the lamplight smiles back at me. Everything about her seems warm and comforting, except for her eyes. Slate grey, and cold as steel, like twin blades.

"None of your business." I reply rudely. I turn to leave, but the woman's hand suddenly grips my shoulder like an iron clamp.

"Now, now, no need to be rude." She says, "After all, I was just trying to help."  
"Well I don't want your help." I reply firmly and start tugging on the woman's hand, but it might as well have been made of stone.

"Of course you want my help! I can make this anger melt away, leaving you as joyful and light as a bird. Wouldn't you like that?"

The woman leans closer and fight back a gag at the sickly sweet scent of her breath.

"No, actually, I wouldn't." I tell her and try to pull away with renewed vigour.

The woman sighs mockingly. "Humans. They never know what's good for them."

I frown. Why did she say "humans"?

But before I can puzzle out her weird way of speaking, the woman lunges forward, and a sharp pain tears up through my neck.

**A/N: Sorry this is late!**

**Cliff-hanger everybody! What will happen to Scarlet? Who was this lady? Why didn't I make Wolf come in and save the day?**

**Please review!**


	30. Sales and Video Games

**Sorry this is so late! A bunch of stuff has been happening and it's been screwing up my writing schedule!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Cinder's POV:

**Sales and Video Games**

Well, it's official: the universe has gone totally crazy.

Werewolves have been showing up at an almost constant basis, sometimes in great, howling packs tearing through crowded areas in a chaotic mass of fangs and fur, sometimes in the dead of night stealing people away when no-one is looking and tearing them into bloody shreds of flesh to be found in the morning by the police. Half the time they couldn't even figure out who the victim was. People have stopped going outside for fear that they'll be the next to die. But, for Iko, I guess a sale is worth the life of her and her best friend.

"Come on Iko, you have tons of clothes already!" I plead for perhaps the billionth time.

"I've been waiting for this store to have a sale for two weeks." Iko says determinedly, "No overgrown puppy is going to keep me away from getting the most gorgeous dress in existence!"

"You said the same thing about the last three dresses you bought!"

"I hadn't seen this dress yet."  
"Do you have to bring me along though?"  
"Yes. You know me Cinder, I never settle for buying just one new outfit when there's a sale. I need you to hold all my shopping bags."

"Hold your own shopping bags! A sale is not worth getting on the wrong side of a wolf's teeth!"

Iko scoffs. "Of course you'd say that. Your idea of fashion is a t-shirt that doesn't have a grease stain on it."

"Could you at least have hired a cab?" I moan.

"Nope, all the taxi drivers have been taking days off. I guess they thought a metal car is no match against teeth and claws."

I groan. "Great."

Iko threw me a grin. "Come on Cinder, you're overreacting. If we do come across a wolf, you can just use your gift to make them back off."  
"That "gift" doesn't work as well on those things."

"Still, I'm sure we can take them. Just give them a nosebleed and they'll be howling for their mommies."  
I scowl at the ground. "That would be a lot more reassuring if they didn't take out Wolf and Scarlet."

Iko stops in her tracks and stares at me, buttercup eyes wide. "You don't think that's why they're missing, do you?"  
"What other cause could there be?" I retort.

Iko bites her lip, but says nothing.

If I'm being totally honest, the idea that the werewolves might have killed Wolf and Scarlet scares me most of all. Wolf is the size of a grizzly bear and built like one too. I'd think that a werewolf would avoid him just for fear of getting seriously hurt, and if they did attack him, they would get seriously hurt. I know that Wolf is pretty much a gentle giant and all, but if those scars are anything to go by, he's seen his fair share of fights. And Scarlet… do I even need to talk about why Scarlet being taken out by the wolves is terrifying? She is the singular toughest person I've ever met. Stars, she has a gun! A freaking gun! Which she can use to shoot werewolves! I know, I've seen her shoot them! And if they happened to find her at a time she didn't have her gun on hand, I'd think she'd kick all of their wicked fangs out of their mouths and send them running with two black eyes.

"I'll prove to you that you're overreacting about this whole wolf-thing."

I blink at Iko, momentarily confused. I'd forgotten that we were arguing about that.

She points smugly at a pair of teenagers walking on the other side of the road. "They aren't inside, are they? So why can't we go out?"

"Because we don't want to get torn apart?" I suggest, before squinting at the pair. I can't see them very well, but I can make out a head of brown hair, and I think the other one is wearing a grey hoodie… wait, a grey hoodie?

"What's Kai doing out here?" I exclaim, "He doesn't seem like the type to go wandering around when there's bloodthirsty monsters on the loose."

Iko raises her eyebrows. "Yeah, I'd think he was holed up in his family library or something. Oh well. Come on, let's go say hi!"

"Wait, what?" I yelp.

Iko links her arm through mine and shoots me a mischievous grin. "You didn't seriously think I'd let you get out of talking to your crush, did you?"

Fire seems to ignite beneath my skin at her words and I look down at my feet. "He's not my crush."

"You keep telling yourself that. Hey, Kai!"

Iko forcibly drags me across the road, ignoring my hissed protests. Kai raises his head and grins as we join him on his side of the road. "Hey guys. What're you doing out here?"  
"One of my favourite stores has a sale." Iko says casually.

"And I'm her personal servant." I mutter.

The guy with brown hair walks around Kai and smirks at my misfortune. "Hey, better you than me."  
I glare at Thorne. "What kind of a friend are you?"

"The kind who shoves shopping bag duty onto you."

"What about you guys?" Iko chirped cheerfully.

"You know Cress?" Thorne asked, "The short blonde with the really long hair?"

I nod. "Yeah, she's in my science class. Why?"

He grinned. "She told me she has a bunch of video games she plays in her spare time, so I'm heading over to her house to play a few games with her."

"That's even dumber than Iko's reason." I say dryly, wincing as her elbow digs into my ribs.

"Cress actually invited you over to her house?" she asked incredulously, "I thought she was too shy for that kind of thing."

Thorne shrugged. "Well, I'm the one who suggested it, since she has a bunch of games that I don't, and I didn't tell her I was coming today specifically… but she agreed to meet up for the occasional gaming session."

I raise an eyebrow at him. "And Kai's with you because…"

"Because he needs to get out of the house and have some fun every now and then." Thorne says firmly.

"Even though I've never played a video game before in my life." Kai mutters under his breath.

I fight against a smile as Thorne punches him in the shoulder.

Iko suddenly grips my arm, excitement gleaming in her eyes. I half expect her wings to unfurl from her back then and there. "Cinder, why don't we invite Cress on our shopping trip? I know a really good hairdresser we can take her to!"

"Not before Kai and I play a few games with her." Thorne interrupts.

I laugh at Iko's disappointed pout. "Come on, it's just a couple of video games. It won't take too long."

"Fiiiiiiine." She groans dramatically, "But I'm not missing that sale!"

**A/N: Well the gang's all going for a nice, fun time playing video games at Cress's place. Nothing bad is going to happen at all**. **Nope. Absolutely nothing.**

**Please review!**


	31. Black Eyes

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Cress's POV:

**Black Eyes**

I'm very good with computers. With just a few commands, I can get them to do almost anything, and with just a few numbers I can build almost anything. Little Cress is just one of the many projects I've undertaken. I've made security software, new games, decoding applications, websites, you name it! I understand codes and technology, it's why I'm so great at it, and why I'm so good at hacking into it. I've never found a database that I couldn't hack. So why is this one giving me so much trouble?

Ever since Dad gave me that hacking assignment several days ago, I've been working like crazy to hack it. But there's some serious security on this thing! I've had to code entirely new software to even make a dent in the many layers of encryption this has. It's like whenever I manage to break down one wall of security, ten more are built to replace it! I've never seen anything like it! I'm actually getting a bit worried that I'm hacking into the CIA or something, that's how great the security is!

The doorbell rings and I start with a small yelp. Who could be calling in now? Dad's out at work, and nobody's leaving their homes with all the wolves running all over the place. Maybe I imagined it?

The doorbell rings again. Guess not.

When I open the door, I can't help but stare at all the people on the other side. Iko, beaming and waving at me. Cinder, smiling and nodding. Kai, with a friendly grin. Thorne, with his lopsided smile.

"W-what are you guys doing here?" I eventually manage to croak out.

"We said we'd play videogames together, right?" Thorne says.

I duck my head as my cheeks warm. I remember that conversation, but I didn't know Thorne would be bringing other people. I imagined it to be just the two of us, late at night, eating popcorn and watching movies when we eventually got bored of the games. I pictured it to be like… a date.

"I… wasn't expecting you'd bring your friends." I eventually murmur.

Thorne scratches his head, looking almost embarrassed. "Yeah… sorry about that. But Kai really needs to get out some more and Iko wanted to take you shopping after the videogames."

My jaw hits the floor and I stare at Iko. "You-you wanted me to go shopping with you?"

She grins. "Sure! I know a really good hairdresser's we can take you to to get your hair styled, and I know a shop with just the cutest dresses that would totally suit you!"

"And I'll be carrying the bags." Cinder groans dramatically.

"You're strong Cinder, you can handle a couple shopping bags."

"Since when have you only made me hold a couple shopping bags?"

I barely hear their bickering over my shock. Iko is the perfect popular girl, with gorgeous clothes and loads of friends and all the latest gossip and everything! And she wants to go shopping with me? Plain old nerdy nobody Cress?

Thorne notices my expression and chuckles. "You look like Iko just told you she's secretly a robot. Girls go shopping together all the time!"

"I don't." Cinder puts in.

"I never get invited to go shopping." I say faintly.

Now it's Iko's turn to look shocked. "What? Never?"

I shake my head.

Iko frowns resolutely and hooks her arm through mine. "That's it! You're going on a shopping trip!"

"I thought you said you would do that _after _we played a few games." Thorne protests.

"Carswell, Cress here is in some serious need of some girl time. Those video games aren't going anywhere. Now let's go!"

At first I was afraid that Thorne would be grumpy since we didn't get to play those videogames, but he actually seems pretty cheerful as we head down to the mall, joking and even offering the occasional suggestion for what kind of outfit would look good on me. At one point, he suggests a sleeveless dress, and I swear my face catches fire.

"I know a shortcut through the park we can take." Iko says cheerfully, pointing to the park entrance, "It'll cut down about ten minutes of the walk."

"You do realise the walk is only, like, twenty minutes anyway right?" Cinder says.

Kai smirks at her. "Didn't expect you to know how long a walk to the mall will take."

"My best friend is Iko. My brain sometimes picks up the stuff she considers important against my will."

"I can relate. My brain does the same thing when I hang around Thorne."

Thorne grins. "Kai, the stuff I consider important, everyone considers important."  
"Your life goal is finding the perfect scented shampoo."

"Exactly! Important!"

I giggle at their banter. Is this what it feels like to have friends? It's even better than I imagined!

We walk along the gravel path chatting and laughing about whatever catches our fancy, and I can't stop smiling. It feels so good to talk to people like this! I sort of thought my life would just continue to be sitting in the corner, watching people who don't even know I exist pass me by and being picked on by the few who are aware of my life. But here and now, talking and laughing with people who are treating me like a friend…. I find myself hoping that won't be the case.

I cast a casual glance at a nearby copse of trees and freeze. Someone behind me grunts in surprise and stumbles slightly as they struggle to avoid crashing into me.

"Cress? What's wrong?" Thorne says.

"I thought… I thought I just saw Scarlet." I stammer.

That catches everyone's attention. "They stare intently at the trees, eyes narrowed and searching.

"Are you sure it wasn't just a trick of the light?" Kai asks me gently, "I mean, Scarlet's been missing for days."

"I'm sure it was her." I say firmly.

I can feel the others shooting me doubtful looks, but I ignore them. I know that I saw her. You can't exactly imagine seeing that head of fiery red hair and bright red hoodie.

"Why don't we go looking for her?" Iko suggests, "You know, just to make sure we didn't miss anything."

Thorne shrugs. "Sounds good to me."

I don't wait for Cinder and Kai's replies, instead running off the path to the trees where I saw that flash of red.

There's something creepy about being in the middle of what is basically a small forest. The trees cast long, dark shadows along the ground, covering the bright blades of grass, and the overreaching branches block out the light of the sun, like they're trying to banish all the happiness there. And it might be my imagination, but as we pass through this one small clearing, I could swear there was dried blood on the grass. It's probably just mud or something but…

A sudden cry from Iko makes me jump with a startled squeak. She's pointing at a familiar red figure, leaning against one of the trees.

"There she is!" she cries excitedly, "Scarlet! Scarlet, over here!"

But the girl doesn't react. Even as we all run towards her, calling her name, she doesn't so move a muscle to show she's heard us. Weird. Scarlet's always been friendly.

Iko reaches her first and taps her on the shoulder. "Where have you been? Everyone's been so worried!"

Scarlet doesn't reply.

"Did you go deaf or something?" Iko jokes as she circles around Scarlet. And then… something weird happens.

Iko's dark skin pales and her eyes widen with horror. Her mouth opens and closes, but no sound comes out. She takes several shaky steps back, but never takes her eyes away from Scarlet's face.

Cinder narrows her eyes at her friend in concern. "Iko? Are you okay?"

"She's just a little disturbed is all." Says a saccharine sweet voice.

A gorgeous woman steps out of the shadows, with honeyed skin and long, flowing dark hair. Her smile is warm, but her grey eyes are cold.

Her gaze lands on each of us in turn, calculating and judging. As she looks at me, I feel the blood draining away from my face and I start to shiver uncontrollably. I get the feeling that this woman, no matter how kind her smile or beautiful her face, would happily cut my throat without a second thought.

"I can hardly blame her." She continues, walking towards us at a leisurely pace. "A vampire's slave is a sight to see."

As if on cue, Scarlet finally turns her head to look at us. I shriek and stumble back into Thorne, who's lost all the colour in his face. Cinder gasps and a strangled cry tears out of Kai's throat at the sight of Scarlet's completely black eyes.

**A/N: Do I smell action?**

**Finally, something's happening! Who is this new lady? Will the gang manage to save Scarlet?**

**Please review!**


	32. Murder

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Kai's POV:

**Murder**

I can't seem to tear my eyes away from Scarlet's, no matter how much I want to. Her head is lolling listlessly to one side, and her mouth is curved in a dreamy smile. Her black eyes regard us without actually seeing us. I know that we could be jumping around her waving our arms and she wouldn't see a thing. I know because my dad wouldn't see a thing. She's trapped inside her own head, just like him, with that weird illness. The only difference is, I think I know what's caused it.

"What did you do to Scarlet?" I ask the strange woman furiously.

"Oh, you don't need to worry about your friend." She says with a nonchalant wave of her hand. "She'll be fine. If Selene cooperates of course."

Thorne frowns with confusion. "Who?"

The woman ignores him, instead turning her attention to Cinder. "My, my, you do look like Channary!"

Cinder doesn't answer, only glares at the woman furiously.

"You know, it's horribly impolite to ignore someone who's talking to you." Suddenly, she laughs, a high, cold sound. "But look at me, lecturing you on manners when I haven't even introduced myself! I am Sybil Mira, Head Thaumaturge to Queen Levana."

"Are we supposed to know what any of that means?" Thorne asks.

"Well, a simple Earthen such as yourself wouldn't know, but the fairy, elf and of course Selene will."

As she speaks, Sybil gestures elegantly to Iko, Cress and Cinder in turn. Iko and Cinder just scowl and clench their fists, but Cress's big blue eyes are stretched wide with confusion and fear.

"Wha-but I'm not a fairy!" she stammers, "O-or and elf! And my name isn't Selene!"

Sybil smirks at her, like she's enjoying the blonde's terror. "For an elf you are remarkably stupid if you honestly think that pathetic display of fear is going to convince me. But I'm not here for you." She turns her cold smile onto Cinder. "I'm here for Selene."

I step forward and grab Cinder's arm. I've heard enough. "Come one Cinder, let's go." This lady's obviously insane. Let's just get out of here and call the police."

She looks at me, her brown eyes shining with fear. Don't blame her. This maniac's convinced that she's someone named Selene.

But before we can take even a step, Sybil whistles, a high-pitched, piercing noise. I don't put much stock in it. Until I hear the howling.

Long low notes slice through the air, growing louder and more jumbled as more voices join the song. Thuds and snaps punctuate the sound like a grim percussion, and hungry eyes gleam from the shadows.

I scan the circle of wolves, trying to ignore the gaping jaws full of knife sharp teeth and the claws scraping impatiently against the dirt, but every time I spot a gap a new wolf arrives to fill it with their own savage forms.

Sybil smirks at me, cold amusement dancing in her grey eyes. "Did you honestly think I would let you go that easily? I still have business to finish with Selene after all."

"What business?" Cinder demands.

"The business of your revolution. Such antics are highly irresponsible. People might get hurt."

As she speaks, Sybil brings out a wicked dagger from the pockets of her white jacket.

As one being, we all take a step back. But she doesn't direct the dagger at us. Instead, she hands it to Scarlet, who takes it dreamily and… holds it up against her own neck.

I feel all the colour leave my face. She wouldn't slit her own throat, would she? Proud, fierce Scarlet wouldn't commit suicide just because some crazy lady told her to. Not if she knew what she was doing, at least. But her blissful smile doesn't falter a bit as the sharp metal brushes against her pale skin.

Another wolf arrives, bigger than all the others, and closes the last gap behind Sybil. Its sharp green eyes are fixed on Scarlet. I guess it can sense that she's the most likely to die at this point.

Cinder fixes Sybil with a fierce glare. "Leave Scarlet out of this! She hasn't done anything!"

"Yes, a true shame when innocent lives are lost." Sybil nods in mock sorrow. "But she could live to see another day, if you would only call off your revolution."

"Cinder's not part of any revolution!" I burst out, "She's not Selene, whoever that is. She's just Cinder! She works as a mechanic in a machine shop and goes to school with us! You've got the completely wrong idea!"

Cinder flinches and Sybil chuckles, smiling at me like I'm a small child. "Oh poor, poor naïve Earthen. I believe it's you who's got the wrong idea."

I open my mouth to retort, but Iko places her hand on my shoulder, shaking her head sympathetically. "It's no use Kai."

"Yeah, this lady thinks that she's an alien or something. No reasoning with that type of person." Thorne agrees.

Sybil ignores us, instead smiling sweetly at Cinder. "So what will it be Selene? Terminate your revolution, or have the blood of an innocent on your hands."

Scarlet presses the knife harder against her neck and dark drops of blood run along the blade.

The large wolf growls.

Cinder is shaking, looking at Scarlet, then Sybil, then the wolves, then the rest of us, then back at Scarlet.

I don't understand her confusion. Just humour the lady and say you're going to call off the non-existent revolution! Then maybe she'll finally let us go. Maybe. She's obviously insane after all.

"Having a hard time deciding?" Sybil asks mockingly, "Let me make it easier for you."

Scarlet lowers the knife from her neck, and I breathe a sigh of relief. But just as I finally allow myself to relax, Scarlet places her hand flat on the trunk of the tree she was leaning against.

The large wolf growls louder and starts slowly stalking forward while his fellows stare at him with what I could almost swear was confusion.

Without looking back, Sybil says, "Patience my dear pups, you will feast soon."

This just makes the big wolf growl louder.

Scarlet adjusts her grip on the knife and raises it so it is hovering directly over her smallest finger. My throat closes up with fear and I step towards her, to stop her, to restrain her, I don't know. But before I can get any closer, her smile never breaking, Scarlet brings the knife to her finger.

A maddened roar of rage suddenly forces me to look away from Scarlet, who now has blood pouring freely over her hand, just in time to see the large wolf pounce on Sybil. Her shriek of terror attacks my ears, and I find myself unable to look away as the wolf sinks his teeth into her neck, tearing away at her flesh. Blood trickles from her mouth as her eyes, so alive with fear mere moments before, turn hollow with death.

The other wolves howl with rage and throw themselves at the larger wolf who, with a final glance at Scarlet, bounds away from its victim's carcass and into the darkness cast by the trees, the savage barking of the others gradually fading as they chase after it.

I release a breath I didn't know I'd been holding and look at the other's faces. Cress has gone deathly pale and her entire body is shaking uncontrollably. She looks like she'll faint any second. Thorne is staring at Sybil's body, unable to look away from the still-bleeding gash on her throat. Iko has managed to tear her gaze away, and is resolutely keeping it that way, unwilling to acknowledge the grotesque scene that just took place. Cinder on the other hand, still hasn't succeeded in that front. She has her hands pressed over her mouth, and her legs are quivering slightly. Her tan skin has lost all its colour in light of what she was just forced to witness.

I reach out, intending to put my hand on her shoulder, when a loud retching lets us all gratefully snap our attention away from Sybil's body.

Scarlet has hunched over, and is hacking and coughing sporadically at the ground. Finally, with a final retch, a stream of black slime pours out of her mouth. She retches again, and out comes more slime, coating the once cheerful blades of grass.

Eventually, she unsteadily straightens, blinking blearily. She reaches up with her bleeding hand to wipe the last remnants of the slime from her mouth. She glances down at her hand and freezes, her big brown eyes wide with shock.

"WHAT THE HELL HAS HAPPENED TO MY HAND?"

**A/N: Well, that was… exciting. (sorry if you were eating when you read this)**

**Please review!**


	33. Revelations

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Scarlet's POV:

**Revelations**

I keep my hoodie tightly wrapped over my bleeding hand, trying to ignore the coppery smell of my own blood. Or maybe it's the smell of that lady's blood still lingering in my nostrils? What did the others say her name was? Sybil? Whatever, it's still sickening. Almost as sickening as the thought that I apparently was the one who cut my finger off.

I can sort of remember it, but it's fuzzy, like trying to recall a dream. I had been so happy, so eager to please that lady. I can sort-of remember the glint of the knife and putting my hand against a tree, but that's it. The rest I know from what my friends have told me and from what I'm seeing with my own two eyes.

"You doing okay Scarlet?" Cinder asks me.

I shrug. "I'm not dizzy with blood loss yet, so I guess so."

"We'll be at the hospital soon. Just hang in there."

I huff a sigh and adjust my hoodie so it's squeezing my hand even tighter.

Kai turns his head to look at me. "Do you know how that woman was able to control you? Like, did you eat something that tasted funny or…?"

I cock my head to one side. "I can sort of remember, but it's all fuzzy. I was walking down a street, and this lady came up to me. She grabbed my shoulder and I think… I think she bit me on the neck."

Thorne raises an eyebrow at me dubiously. "She… bit you?"

"I know it sounds ridiculous, but I just clearly remember her lunging forward suddenly and a sharp pain in my neck."

"So, you think your eyes turned black because she bit you?" Thorne asks incredulously, "That lady sure seemed weird, but not that weird!"

I glare at him. "Look, that's just the last thing I remember before everything becomes foggy. I'd love to hear your theories! I suppose you have so many totally genius, totally plausible ideas as to why I cut my own finger off!"

He throws his hands up in surrender. "Yeesh, no need to get mad Little Red, I'm just saying that it's pretty weird. Are there even any markings on your neck?"

I open my mouth to reply, but Cinder beats me to it. "There won't be, even if Scarlet's right."

Cress frowns at Cinder. "But if that lady bit Scarlet, then there must be markings."

"Not in this case."

"And here I thought we were done with ladies saying stuff that make no sense." Thorne mutters.

"I promise I'll explain everything later." Cinder says, "But first, Scarlet's in serious need of a doctor."

The receptionist is reading the newspaper when we come into the hospital, and I'm starting to feel sick. I guess the blood loss is finally catching up to me. Is this how Wolf felt after he fought that giant wolf?

Cinder rings the bell on the desk impatiently and he looks up, brow creased with annoyance.

"We need to see Dr Dmitri Erland." Cinder tells him, "My friend here has a serious injury."

The receptionist glances at me sparingly. "She looks fine to me."

"One of my fingers has been cut off." I tell him dryly.

His eyes widen and he slowly looks down at my hand, finally noticing the hoodie wrapped around it.

He gulps. "I'll get Dr Erland for you."

I grit my teeth as Dr Erland peels the blood soaked fabric from my skin keeping my gaze trained resolutely at the ceiling, unwilling to look at the thing that was my hand.

Finally, the doctor manages to remove my hoodie and he studies my bloody hand.

He clicks his tongue. "And you did this to yourself?"

I shoot Cinder a glare. "Of all the doctors in the place, you had to pick my shrink?"

She shrugs.

"Squeeze the wound as tight as you can." Dr Erland instructs, "That's slow the bleeding while I get some bandages and antibiotic cream."

I do as he says, my fingers slipping slightly on the blood.

He opens a cupboard and takes out a roll of bandaging. "Tell me what happened. Every detail."

The others tell him for me, describing how they found me in the woods with my eyes completely black, about Sybil Mira and the strange things she said, about the wolves that formed a circle around them so they couldn't escape, how Sybil made me cut off my own finger and how one of the wolves killed her. And my spectacular vomiting episode.

By the time they finish, the doctor's cleaned the blood off my hand, slathered my missing finger in cream and wrapped my hand tightly with bandage. He has also gone unusually pale and shaky.

"And this woman, Sybil Mira was it?" He says, his voice slightly faint, "What did she call Cinder again?"

"Selene." Kai answers, "And she called Iko and Cress a fairy and an elf."

Dr Erland huffs a sigh and rubs his forehead worriedly. I can just hear him muttering to himself, "This is bad, this is very, very bad…"

I narrow my eyes. I had just brushed off what the others told me Sybil had said as the crazy mutterings of a lady who's been reading too much fantasy, but the way Dr Erland's acting, and Cinder's weird certainty that I'd have no bite marks on my neck…

"Cinder, all that stuff that lady was saying, was that just her being crazy?" I ask coldly.

Kai gives me an incredulous look. "Scarlet, of course it was just her being crazy! She thought Cress was a fairy for God's sake!"

Iko raises a finger. "Actually, Cress is the elf. I'm the fairy."

Cress stares at her. "What?"

Iko grins sheepishly and shrugs.

A soft, pale yellow light glows on the wall behind her and I frown. Where's that coming from?

The answer turns out to be something I never would have thought of.

Pale yellow tendrils of light stretch out from Iko's back, waving slightly in a breeze that I can't feel, tinting the room with their warm glow.

She gestures to the… whatever it is dramatically. "Behold, my wings!"

Thorne slowly shakes his head. "And just when I thought today couldn't get any weirder."

Kai gapes at Iko, pointing dumbly at her "wings". "Wha-but-how-"

"Well, technically it's my soul." She continues, apparently not noticing that Kai's already completely dumbfounded already, "But that wouldn't be nearly as poetic, don't you think?"

"Iko, I think you're frying their brains." Cinder deadpans.

She looks around, taking in Kai's hanging jaw, Thorne's raised eyebrows, and Cress's wide eyes.

Eventually, she gestures to me. "Scarlet's fine!"

"I'm steadily losing blood." I remind her, "My mind's not quite up to scratch."

"If Iko's the fairy, then that means Sybil thinks I'm the elf." Cress murmurs, "B-but I'm not an elf! Elves have pointy ears!"

"No they don't." Dr Erland corrects her, "And you're not a full-elf Crescent, you're still half-human."

She stares at him, her big blue eyes strangely shiny. "Dad… you're an elf?"

He flinches. "I'm sorry I never told you My Little Crescent Moon, but it was for your own safety. Trust me."

Cress doesn't seem to hear him. She clutches at her thick blonde hair and falls to her knees. Thorne hurriedly crouches down and places a gentle hand on her back, but she doesn't react at all. The revelation of what her father is, what _she _is, has made her completely shut down.

Kai slowly turns his head to look at Cinder, the desperation and hurt clearly written across his face.

She winces and I can't help but feel a pang of sympathy. I know what she's going to say. Kai knows what she's going to say. And she knows how he's going to react. And she obviously doesn't like it.

She gives a tiny nod. "Yes, my real name is Selene."

**A/N: So much for keeping secrets.**

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	34. Lies

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Kai's POV:

**Lies**

I stare sombrely out of my bedroom window. It's a full moon tonight. I used to find staring at the moon relaxing, where I could sit and observe the one light in the night sky not killed off by the glow of the city. But now, instead of being comforting, the silver orb seems to sneer down at me, mocking me for my own ignorance and gullibility.

A part of me knows I'm being unreasonable. I mean, how could have I known about an alternate dimension? How could have I known about the existence of creatures that I've been taught my whole life exist only in books and movies? Before today, if anyone told me that my dad was suffering from a vampire bite, I probably would have laughed in their face. But even knowing that isn't enough to get rid of the pit of resentment that's settled in my heart.

Cinder knew. I took her to see my father. She knew what was wrong with him. She knew how to cure him. And she said nothing! I'm honestly starting to wonder what words out of her mouth weren't lies by this point. Her name is a lie. Her life is a lie. Even her species is a lie. Same goes for Iko, Cress's dad, and that guy who disappeared a couple days ago, Jacin. They lied to everyone's faces for years without a single untrue word troubling their consciences. At least Cress told the truth, or, thought she was anyway. Because guess what? Her dad lied to her about her entire life!

I cast a glance at my bed. You'd think that, after all the excitement of today, I'd be exhausted. But the thought of sleeping seems unimaginable to me now. I haven't even changed into my pyjamas yet. My mind is buzzing with all the revelations that confronted me today: werewolves, vampires, elves, fairies, another dimension ruled by a tyrannical queen that Cinder-no, Selene-is trying to overthrow… I might as well have drunk ten cups of coffee before bed.

My eyes find my hoodie, draped over the back of my desk chair, and I sigh. What I'm about to do is probably going to earn me a Darwin Award. But I can't stand just staying in the house with my mind-controlled dad all night with all this new information flitting around my head like millions of fireflies. I've got to get out of here.

Walking along the infinitely familiar footpaths, the chill night air worming its way through my hoodie and stinging my skin, I can't help but feel like it was a good idea to go for a walk. For the first time since the trip to the hospital, I can ignore the knowledge that has been steadily nibbling at my mind, demanding my attention. Instead, I can focus on the cold air against my skin, the sound of my footfalls against pavement, the stench of blood in the air… wait, what?

I stop dead in my tracks, trying to sort out what I'm really smelling. It's probably just my memories of the stink from Sybil's death and Scarlet's bleeding hand. I inhale deeply through my nose, trying to convince myself. But there it is, the unmistakable bitter smell of life's fluid.

"Probably just a rat." I mutter to myself, "Or a stray dog that's just gotten into a fight over territory or something."

A pointed muzzle cautiously pokes out of the shadows between two buildings and I breathe a sigh of relief. There, see? Just a dog. Nothing to worry about.

The owner of the muzzle slowly creeps out of the darkness into the lamplight. Now I can see its gigantic head, broad shoulders and bushy tail, all too big to belong to any kind of dog. At least, not any Earthen variety of dog.

I slump over. I'm definitely going to get a Darwin Award, aren't I?

Blood drips from deep gashes along the werewolf's shoulders and belly, but it doesn't seem to notice or care. It raises its muzzle and sniffs the air.

All at once, it stiffens, every predatory muscle tense. And I don't need its head snapping around to stare right at me to know why.

Giant green eyes stare at me warily, as if the werewolf is trying to decide whether I'm worth the trouble of killing.

I take a slow step back. The wolf doesn't react. I take another step, just as slow. And another. And another. All the while the wolf just stands there, not taking its jewel-like eyes off me.

A small flicker of hope ignites in my chest. Maybe it's not hungry, or it's too tired, or its wounds are too painful for it to bother hurting me. Maybe I'll actually get out of this alive!

The unmistakable howls slicing through the air are enough to make that hope gutter into nothingness.

The wolf that had been staring at me suddenly bolts towards me. With a yelp of fear I scramble onto the road in an effort to get away from the charging animal, tripping over the edge of the sidewalk and falling back onto the tarmac. But the wolf just sprints right past me, like a giant arrow released from a bow.

More werewolves dart around the corner, cutting off the other wolf's path. It snarls, pivoting around to run the other way. Pushing myself to my feet, I prepare to do the same. Until I see the group of wolves charging off in that direction.

The first wolf's great head swings around, looking for an opening to escape, but the wolves are already moving to close the few gaps left. The manoeuvre is so smooth, so coordinated, and so out of place in the movements of giant, fierce animals. But then again, Selene did say that they were soldiers. Animal soldiers… I still can't quite wrap my head around that.

The first wolf bares its teeth and roars at the newcomers. In response, they throw themselves onto its back, sinking their teeth into its neck, its legs, its spine. Their victim is big, bigger that most of them, and puts up a fight, throwing them off as though they're nothing more than toys. But for every wolf it discards, another is there, ready and waiting to take its place.

Forcing myself to turn away from the fight, I try to make a break for it, running towards the opposite side of the road. But something catches my hoodie, bringing me to a jarring stop.

"Well now," a rough voice murmurs in my ear, "what do we have here?"

I flail desperately in the person's grip, trying to rip the fabric of my hoodie away. But all that does is make them switch to holding my neck.

"What should we do with you Earthen?" The voice says mockingly, "You've seen a little too much today. Human flesh always tastes sweet."

I reach up and try to pry the fingers off my neck, but I might as well be trying to bend iron bars.

"But then again," the voice continues, "Her Majesty might reward me if I bring her a new servant. You seem to be her favourite age."

Footsteps sound dully on the road as someone else comes up to us. "Quit playing around Jerrico." The newcomer growls, "Give the human to The Queen, or give it to one of us to eat."

"You ought to treat me with more respect, mutt!" Jerrico snaps, "I am the Captain of the Royal Guard!"

"Well, I'm not a Royal Guard last I checked." The second person grumbles. "Just get on with it! My pack is hungry, and this world is rich in prey!"

Jerrico makes a sound not unlike the growls of the fighting wolves. I don't really know what I'm hoping he'll choose. One of them will result in my death, the other will result in me becoming a present to their "Queen", which I'm pretty sure will involve my eyes going completely black. Why didn't I just stay at home?

"I'll give him to The Queen." Jerrico decides finally.

The second person snorts. "Figures you'd choose kissing up to your boss than eating perfectly good food."

"Has the rogue been subdued?"

"Depends. Does "subdued" mean having a bunch of wolves piled on top of him? Because that seems to be the only thing that's working at this point."

"It'll do. Now, it's about time we reported back to The Queen."

A squint as a sudden bright silver light glows in my peripheral vision. A soft humming sounds in my ears, growing louder, and louder, till it drowns out even the snarls and barks of the wolves. I squeeze my eyes shut and grit my teeth as the humming grows louder still, tearing at my eardrums and reverberating inside my skull. It drowns out my very thoughts, sinking into my consciousness like a particularly sharp stone, burrowing its way deep into my mind. I doubt I'll ever go another day without hearing the dreaded noise.

And then comes the pain.

**A/N: Cliff-hanger! Did you guys think the excitement would end with Sybil's death? Well there's going to be a heck of a lot of stuff going on from here on out, let me tell you.**

**Please review!**


	35. The Captive

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Cinder's POV:

**The Captive**

My fingers are shaking slightly as I press the numbers displayed on my phone. It beeps, and I raise it up to my ear, holding my breath. _Please work please work please work…_

The beeping stops, and Kai's cheerful voice buzzes out of the speakers. "Hello. Sorry, but I can't get to my phone right now. Please leave a message, and feel free to call me back later!"

I sigh and turn off my phone. That's the third time I've called, and he's still not answering. There's no denying it now: he's ignoring me.

I'd barely gotten any sleep last night. My head was buzzing with everything that had happened. Scarlet, Sybil Mira, the werewolves, but mostly, that conversation in the hospital. The way the others all looked at me when I told them what was really going on. The way _Kai_ had looked at me… I can't help a slight wince at the memory.

Scarlet had taken it the best, but I'm not sure she counted because by the time I finished she was only half-conscious and giggling a little. I'm sure that at this moment she is furiously ranting about it and attracting a load of weird looks from the doctors. So really, the person who took it best was Thorne, who mostly just shook his head and muttered about how stupidly crazy his life had gotten. Annoyingly, he'd already started calling me Dracula by the time we left the hospital. Cress… well, Cress was just a wreck. She spent a lot of the explanation curled up in a little ball, tears running down her pale cheeks, shaking her head and muttering "It's not true, it's not true." Over and over, like a mantra, in an attempt to convince herself that all of it was nothing more than a bad dream, or a joke gone too far. Judging by the glassy look to her usually bright eyes as her dad took her home for the evening, her attempts were in vain. As for Kai… he wasn't confused. Or sad. Just angry. I'll never forget the fire in his usually calm copper brown eyes, the way his lip curled in disgust as he looked at me. The sharp edges of the words he spat in my direction. The cold quiet of his voice as he said, _"You knew. You knew what was wrong with him. You knew how to cure him. And you said nothing. I thought you were my friend, but really, you're nothing more than a liar."_

_Liar. _That word had lingered in my ears all night, like a venomous snake, sinking its poison fangs into my soul with every quiet echo. _Liar, liar, liar…_

"Cinder!"

I start as the sound of my name pulls me out of my thoughts. I blink at the blue-haired figure who'd spoken, my jumbled thoughts struggling to recognise her for a few moments.

"Hi Iko." I say, when my brain finally catches up to the world around me.

She walks over to stand beside me, yellow eyes narrowed with concern. "Still no answer?"

I shake my head, heaving a sigh. "I don't know why I'm even surprised. You saw his reaction yesterday."

Iko fists her hands on her hips, scowling at the phone in my hand. "It's not like Kai to be this unreasonable for so long."

"Unreasonable? We lied to his face for years!"

"Great, now you're being unreasonable." Iko grumbles, "Cinder, Kai's a nice guy and all, but do you really think he wouldn't laugh in your face if you told him that you're actually a vampire princess who's trying to overthrow a tyrannical queen of another dimension?"

I shudder. "Please don't call me a vampire princess. That makes me sound like a character straight out of a romance novel."

"That's totally beside the point. The point is, Kai wouldn't have believed you even if you had told him the truth."

"So, we could've told him a half-truth!" I retort, "Said we're immigrants! That our country's a dictatorship!"

Iko shook her head sympathetically. "Cinder, we both know that wouldn't have done anything to change his reaction."

I open my mouth, even though I don't know what I'm going to say, when the phone in my hands suddenly rings.

My eyes dart down to the screen, hope sparking in my chest. Maybe it was Kai. Maybe he wasn't ignoring me after all. Maybe he wasn't mad anymore. But the spark fades as quickly as it came at the sight of Dr Erland's name on the screen.

Sighing, I press the accept call button, putting it on Speaker for Iko. "What is it Erland?"  
"First of all, a little respect please." He says indignantly, "And second, come to my house as soon as possible. Something's happened."

Dr Erland glares at me as I make my way to the living room. "I was hoping you'd only bring Iko."

I raise an eyebrow at him. "What's the problem? They already know everything."

"That doesn't mean they get to participate in our meetings!"

"If Thorne says anything stupid, feel free to tell him to shut up."

"We can hear you!" Thorne's voice calls out.

"I know!" I shout back.

Dr Erland sighs and massages his forehead. "Let's just get to it."

I enter the living room, and immediately cringe under the weight of three stares. Cress is winding her long blond hair around her wrist uncomfortably. Thorne is twiddling his thumbs, trying and failing to look casual. Scarlet is picking at the bandage wrapped around her hand. There are some fresh red spots on the white fabric. Kai isn't even here.

I clear my throat and turn to Dr Erland. "So," I say, my voice an octave higher than usual, "what is it you wanted to talk about?"

With one final suspicious glance at my friends, he tells me. "Last night, there was a sudden surge in Lunar bioelectricity on Emperor's Road."

"Cinder, translation please?" Thorne asks me.

I shrug. "Don't look at me, I don't speak scientist."

Dr Erland glares at me. "We've been over this a million times!"  
"Your explanations were also in scientist."

There is a quiet giggle. Surprisingly, it came from Cress.

Dr Erland sighs. "In the other dimension, the energy is different to the energy here." He says very slowly. "It is called, "bioelectricity". They use this energy to power the technology they use to travel between dimensions. That surge of Lunar bioelectricity means that they travelled back to their own dimension. Now do you understand?"

We all nod.

"So if they went home, that's a good thing right?" Scarlet says, "Less giant wolves running around."

"Unfortunately, I don't think they only brought themselves back." Dr Erland replies darkly.

He opens his laptop sitting on the coffee table, and pulls up a window showing a photo that… doesn't really show much of anything. It's just some shapeless splodges of colour on a black background.

"Um… what are we looking at here?" Iko asks.

Dr Erland glances around at us. "You all know how infrared works, I assume?"

Thorne scratches his head. "Something to do with heat?"

"Infrared images show how warm or cold something is using colours. What you're looking at here is similar, except instead of heat, it shows bioelectricity."

He points to a silver blob. "This creature here, for example, is Lunar." He points to a golden blob. "And this one is Earthen."

I point to a smudge of colour that seems to be a weird mixture of silver and gold. "What about this one here?"

"That is probably just an Earthen that's really close to a Lunar at this point. Anyway, the footage this image is from shows the Lunars taking the Earthens away. And judging from the size and rough shape of the Earthens, these are humans."

Iko sucks a breath in through her teeth. "Ooh, that's going to be one painful trip for those poor guys."

"Are they going to torture them or something?" Scarlet asks.

Iko shrugs. "Probably. But when you go into a dimension that's not yours, your body does not like it. The result: a whole lot of agony. Like legitimately-wish-you-were-dead kind of agony."

I notice that Scarlet's turned very still. "Is something wrong?"

She shakes her head. "No, no, it's nothing."

I frown, opening my mouth to question her further, but Cress speaks first. "Do you know who was taken?"

Dr Erland shakes his head. "Unfortunately I haven't yet found a way to switch the film from bioelectric detection to real foota-Crescent, don't touch my computer!"

Cress ignores him, her fingers flying over that keys. Occasionally she clicks on something and there's a ding. We all exchange confused glances, trying to figure out what the heck she's doing. But this is Cress. The only one who understands what she can do with computers is, well, her.

Eventually, she turns the laptop around to face us. The shapeless splodges are gone, replaced with high-definition images. A group of werewolves are piled on top of one, large brown wolf. Two humanoids are glaring at each other, and one of them is holding…

I feel the blood drain away from my face and I take a shaky step back in an effort to somehow escape from the digital image. Because, stuck in the grip of that Lunar, is Kai.

**A/N: Sorry the cliff-hanger didn't get resolved, but hey! The group is properly starting to form!**

**Please review!**


	36. Meeting the Tyrant

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Kai's POV:

**Meeting the Tyrant**

I thought I knew what pain felt like. When I was a kid, I thought it stung for a little bit, but eventually turned numb. Then I broke my leg when I jumped off my balcony on a dare, I thought pain was fire racing up my bones, but avoidable if I could just avoid stepping on the injured part. But that's nothing, nothing compared to what I'm going through right now. It feels like hundreds of chisels turned red-hot in a furnace are being driven down to the very core of my bones. It feels like molten steel is running through my veins. It feels like rusty nails are being driven through every morsel of skin. My thoughts have ground to a halt and my lungs are clamping up, closing off my supply of air. I gulp and gasp, trying to breathe, but I can steel feel my chest tighten as I slowly suffocate.

Something cold settles around my neck. There's a short beep, muffled by the agony gripping every morsel of my being and then… the pain is gone.

I gratefully inhale air back into my now open lungs. My throat is scraped raw. Have I been screaming? I rub my face, trying to collect my still-disjointed thoughts, and my hand touches something wet. Tears?

A soft whimpering catches my attention. The wolf from earlier, the large one that all the other wolves had been attacking, was curled up in a tight ball of agony, feeble whines slipping between its teeth. A group of burly young men dressed in some kind of animal pelt surround it, exchanging confused glances.

"Are you sure you turned the collar on?" One red haired man asks sceptically.

The largest man glares at him. "Do you think we're amateurs Jerrico? Of course it's on!"

"Then why is he still in pain?"

"You expect me to know that? All this weird techy stuff is elven territory, or did you forget that all our kind is the lowest of the low?"

The red-haired man, Jerrico, sniffs haughtily. "Maybe you're the lowest of the low, but I'm-"

The large man waves his hand dismissively. "Yes, yes, we know you're the queen's favourite puppy. Doesn't mean she won't make you break your own neck without a second thought, no matter how many new pets you give her." He adds with a scowl in my direction. I glare right back. Did he think I asked to get abducted?

"Alpha Strom, looks like this guy's not going to be able to walk." One of the young men surrounding the large wolf call out.

The largest man sighs in frustration. "Fine, we'll just have to carry him to the palace. Anything to keep Her Highness from breathing down our necks much more."

"Watch what you say, Strom." Jerrico growls.

Strom snorts.

We are led to a huge castle, and I can't suppress a shudder. It's a beautiful building, made of perfect white stone with turrets and towers straight out of a fairy tale. But there's something… cold about it. Imposing. Maybe it's because I already know who lives there, maybe it's just the utter perfection of the place. But it's a truly terrifying place.

Jerrico keeps a firm grip on my neck as we enter the building. Soldiers and wolves patrol the corridors, not even sparing us a passing glance. The floor clicks audibly under claws and shoes, making me wince.

Eventually, we arrive at a great set of huge wooden doors. A white-blond wolf with ice-blue eyes standing outside them studies us curiously as we approach. I narrow my eyes. Weird. I could almost swear I know that wolf. But before I can think on it further, one of the soldiers pushes open the doors and Jerrico shoves me roughly forward.

A strangled cry of surprise tears itself out of my throat as I'm sent sprawling on the gleaming clean floor tiles. There's a loud thud beside me followed by a weak whine. Seems like my fellow prisoner just got the same treatment.

"Captain Solis." a high, cold voice intones, "What is this?"

Painfully, I raise my head to look at who had spoken. Every muscle in my body tenses, and my breath gets stuck in my throat. The speaker is a woman, sitting on a black throne wearing a black crown with tall, spiralling points. This was the queen that Selene was talking about, the vampire queen who rules over Luna with an iron fist. Levana.

"I've brought you the renegade werewolf, My Queen." Jerrico says in a voice like molasses, "He was a worthy opponent, but he is now well and truly subdued."

"I can see that." The queen says coldly, "I was referring to the human."

Jerrico grabs my hair and pulls my head back, forcing me to grit my teeth against a yelp of pain. "This was one of the humans who witnessed the murder of Head Thaumaturge Sybil Mira. I thought I would present him as a gift to you."

Levana steps off her throne in a smooth, elegant motion, and slowly walks towards me. She gently takes my chin in one hand and turns my face this way and that, as if she was examining merchandise. Eventually, her blood red lips curl into a satisfied smile. "This is a fine present Jerrico."

I forcibly wrench my head away from her grip, my stomach roiling with disgust as I glare at her.

Levana's smile widens. "I will especially enjoy disciplining him."

Jerrico bows low to the ground. "I live to serve My Queen."

Levana turns her cold, dark gaze to the werewolf who was brought in with me. "Now then. Let's have a look at this werewolf that broke my captain's arm and killed my head thaumaturge, shall we?"

My eyes widen with sympathy for the wretched creature as Levana walks towards it. It's a terrifying beast, and I'm not inclined to trust it after seeing it tear open Sybil's throat, but it didn't deserve whatever Levana was going to do to it. Nothing deserved that fate.

Just like with me, Levana turns the werewolf's face in different directions. From where I'm crouching, I can just make out the intense green of its half open eyes. That shade of green… where have I seen it before?

Levana smirks. "Well, well, well." She says, a tinge of amusement tinting her voice, "Here's a face I never thought I'd see again."

"Pardon me Your Majesty; you know this mutt?" Jerrico asks incredulously.

"I'll admit, it's a little difficult to recognise him. After all, it's been, oh, about seven years? But I know it's you, Alpha Intended."

There is a stir among the soldiers gathered in the hall. Those in their wolf forms bristle with surprise, while others just look at the prisoner, their eyes wide with shock and… respect?

Strom takes a hesitant step forward, his gaze fixed on the "Alpha Intended". "You don't mean… that's Ze'ev?"

"The very same." Levana replies calmly, seemingly unaware of the audible gasp of surprise at her words. "It seems he's not been dead all this time."

Looking at the werewolf, Ze'ev or whatever its name is, with its chest heaving and small pitiful whines whispering through its jaws, I can't help but think that statement won't be true for much longer.

That is, until it suddenly twists its head out of Levana's grip and sinks its wicked fangs into her ivory skinned hand.

The queen shrieks in pain, but before her guards can so much as take a step toward her, Ze'ev has released her hand and jumped to its paws with an agility and grace that shouldn't belong to something so big and bulky. Before I know it, it's bounding toward me. I stumble back, but instead of attacking, it just grips my hood in its teeth and bounds for the door, dragging me beside it.

A few guards chase after us, but gone was the half-conscious pathetic beast they were forced to carry. In its place, is a determined, graceful creature who can run at roughly the same speed as a champion racehorse. And it might be just my imagination, but they don't seem to be trying very hard.

We make it out of the castle relatively easily, but still Ze'ev doesn't slow down, much to my dismay. I mean, I'm grateful that it got me out of there and everything, but it feels like I'm being strangled to death here!

Ze'ev takes us into a nearby forest, with giant trees I have no name for and, finally, gently releases my hoodie.

Awkwardly, I get to my feet and look at the Ze'ev. This time, I ignore the fangs and claws that made my heart skip a beat with fear. I ignore the blood still matting its fur. Instead I look at the dark shade of brown of its pelt. I look at the way the fur sticks up like it's been hit by lightning. I look at its muscular body and the determined way it holds itself. I look at its vivid, intense green eyes. And I look at its left foreleg, where I can't help but wonder if, under all that fur, is a picture inked into the skin, of the very creature standing before me.

I groan and pinch the bridge of my nose. "Wolf… please tell me that's not you."

He ducks his head, and I swear I can see the apology in his eyes.

**A/N: The end of the cliff-hanger! But Kai and Wolf are still stuck on Luna, and Wolf's not exactly made a good first impression on the queen. Will the rest of the gang be able to save them?**

**Please review!**


	37. Going to Luna

**Sorry this is late! I've got exams coming up, and I'm studying like mad!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Scarlet's POV: 

**Going to Luna**

Can someone please remind me what normal life is like again? You know, just harvesting tomatoes on Grand-mère's farm, making deliveries to Gilles' Tavern, listening to my best friend Émile gossip about boys. Or if you want to go more recent, sitting bored out of my mind in counselling sessions with my dad, trying to make sense of the foreign language known as Old English while studying Shakespeare and going on walks with Wolf. That's normal, right? Well, whatever normal is, it's not discussing whether or not it would be a good idea to go to an alternate dimension.

"We can't just leave Kai there!" Cinder says indignantly.

"By now your friend is probably already dead or the Queen's newest puppet." Dr Erland snaps back.

"But we know how to bring them back to normal now!"

"As shocking as this may seem to you Selene-"

Cinder flinches.

"killing the queen of Luna isn't easy, otherwise someone would have done it already. She's surrounded by werewolf guards 24/7, has plenty of nobility and servants wandering around the castle to use as living shields, the Alpha werewolf is under her thumb, and let's not forget that she is one of the most powerful vampires in history!"

"So am I." Cinder counters.

"But you have far less experience using your powers."

Thorne holds up his hands. "Woah, woah, woah, hold it right there. Did you just say that this lady is one of the most powerful vampires in history?"

Dr Erland glares at him. "Clean your ears young man, of course I did!"

"And Cinder is too?"

Dr Erland doesn't even bother answering.

"Aces," Thorne mutters faintly, "how did I get dragged into this again?"

"You witnessed a vampire nearly make Scarlet kill herself and then the vampire was killed by a werewolf and then Cinder told you everything about Luna." Iko answered helpfully.

"Oh, right."

"You know," Dr Erland says loudly, his gaze travelling over me, Thorne and Cress, "all of you can stay out of all this and be safe if you would just go and pretend this never happened."

I snort and wave my mutilated hand in the air. "Forget this ever happened? I was forced to cut off my own finger!"

"And you're my dad." Cress says, "I can't exactly forget that my own father is part of a rebellion in another dimension!"

"And one of my best friends just got kidnapped by vampires." Thorne adds, "And my other best friend is an actual vampire! Like that guy from _Twilight_!"

Cinder glared daggers at him. "Don't you dare compare me to _Twilight_."

"None of you are fully comprehending the situation!" Dr Erland exclaims exasperatedly, "Luna is full of werewolf soldiers who would tear you limb from limb and positively enjoy it, and vampires that would force you to stand still while they bite you and make you their slaves! As humans, Scarlet and Thorne have virtually no way of defending against themselves and I'm not about to let Crescent put herself in that kind of danger. What kind of a father would I be if I did?"

"And what kind of a daughter would I be if a let you?" comes Cress's faint voice.

I stare at the small girl. Her blue eyes have gone huge and she's anxiously winding a lock of her long, blond hair around her wrist. "Dad," she says quietly, "what if you go to Luna, and you die?"

Dr Erland puts his hand on his daughter's shoulder, smiling reassuringly, "I'll be alright Cress. I managed to survive there for decades."

"But you didn't spend those decades actively fighting against the government." Cress retorts, "You just said yourself that they won't hesitate to kill you."

"Which is why you're not coming." Dr Erland says firmly.

"But Dad, what will I do if you die? You're the only family I have."

"One of my workmates will take you in." He tells her, but he doesn't sound very sure.

I scowl. "I'm going to have to side with Cress on this one Doc. As someone who speaks from experience, being raised by someone who doesn't love you really, really sucks."

"My colleagues wouldn't treat my daughter the way your father treats you Scarlet."

"But they wouldn't love her, would they? Sure, they'll keep her healthy and make sure she goes to school and all that, but they won't strive to make her happy."

Dr Erland looks away and says nothing.

Cinder steps forward and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Dmitri, I know you don't want any of us to get hurt. But we all know that, to actually pull of a revolution, there's no way we're getting away unscathed."  
"I'm not putting my daughter in danger." Dr Erland says stubbornly.

"But I can help!" Cress pipes up, "You've already set me to hacking some of the Lunar's files. Don't pretend, I know that's what you were making me do! And if not for me, you wouldn't know that it was Kai who'd been captured."

Thorne grins cockily. "Hey, if we're staging a rescue mission for Kai, you've got to let me in on it! I seriously doubt that any of you know how to pick locks and can make up a believable excuse for being somewhere you totally shouldn't be in a snap."

Dr Erland gives him a look. "Lunar soldiers aren't schoolteachers."

"Who says I've only lied to schoolteachers? I've sweet-talked the police into looking the other way."

"He's telling the truth actually." Cinder says, "He once stole a taser and he managed to convince the cops that someone else was the thief and he was just trying to return it."

Dr Erland sighs with exasperation but says nothing.

I grin and raise my hand. "Don't think you're leaving me out after I was turned into a puppet."

"And what can you do with one hand out of commission?" Dr Erland demands.

My grin widens. "I've been shooting guns since I was eleven. I've got pretty good aim."

Iko stares at me. "How did you get a gun when you were eleven?"

"My grandmother gave me one for my birthday."

Thorne stares at me enviously. "Spades, wish my granny was that generous."

We all look at Dr Erland expectantly. He's scowling darkly, and his mouth is screwed up with reluctance, but that doesn't keep me from smirking. I can see it. We can all see it. We've won.

The realisation comes as a relief, because honestly, I don't just want to go because a vampire took control of my brain (though that is a pretty big part of it). I want in because of something Iko said before, about how if you're in the wrong dimension, you're put through a ton of pain. Pain, like the attacks Wolf gets?

**A/N: I think I speak for all of us when I say: FINALLY, NO MORE TALKING!**

**Please review!**


	38. So Many Questions

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Kai's POV:

**So Many Questions…**

"Of course you're a werewolf!" I cry furiously, "I guess everyone I know is secretly a supernatural creature from another dimension! First Iko says she's a fairy, Cress's dad says he's an elf, Cinder is a vampire whose real name is Selene, and now you're a werewolf!"

Wolf just stares at me, his big canine head cocked to one side, a bewildered look in his bright green eyes. The thought makes me snort. _He's_ bewildered?

"I don't know how I couldn't have seen this coming." I mutter, "I mean, your name is literally "Wolf"! You can't get much more obvious than that."

Wolf whines unsurely.

"Am I missing anything? Oh right! I'm in a freaking alternate dimension, with a psycho queen who wants to turn me into her slave and a giant wolf who bit her hand off! Imagine that on my gravestone, which I'm definitely going to get at this rate: "Here lies Kai. He died in another dimension." That is, assuming you people even do gravesto-"

Something hits the side of my face, hard. I gasp, reaching up to touch my stinging cheek. I glare at Wolf, who's paw now looks closer to a furry hand with long, sharp nails.

"Did you really have to slap me?" I mutter.

Wolf nods, curiously examining his vaguely human hand. His green eyes narrow with concentration. He coughs and hacks. There are a few sharp snaps that sound suspiciously like breaking bones. And then… he speaks. "You were starting to get a bit hysteric."

My jaw drops. "You can talk when you're an actual wolf?"

"Well, I have to change my vocal cords slightly and let my jaw move a bit more but, yeah, I guess." He replies. His voice sounds nothing like when he's human. It's rough with a hidden growl, and pretty hard to understand. But he's definitely speaking. I am having a conversation with a wolf. I thought this kind of thing only happened in kids' shows.

I run my hands through my hair. "You change your vocal cords and jaw… God, you say that as if it were easy."

"Trust me, it's not."

"Well, I should hope not! It shouldn't even be possible!"

Wolf shrugs. "Different worlds, different rules."

I sigh. "Can you at least change form so that you're fully human? It's beyond weird to be talking to an animal."

Wolf shifts his weight uncomfortably. "Trust me, you don't want me to do that."

"Why not?"

Wolf blows out a breath of air awkwardly. It's surprisingly disorientating seeing such a human action done by an animal face.

He lifts his paw turned hand and picks at a scrap of fabric that had been obscured by his thick pelt. Reluctantly, I walk over and look at the fabric. It's dark and has a cottony feel to it. There's a strip of torn elastic running along one edge of the fabric, and a small label sticking out from underneath it.

I grimace. "Wolf… is this your shirt?"

"Yes."

"And I'm guessing the rest of your clothes are like this?"

"Yes."  
"And they're not going to magically repair themselves if you turn human, are they?"

"Yes."

I sigh heavily. "Fine. Stay in dog mode then."

Wolf growls and I instinctively take a step back. "Don't call it dog mode. That is seriously demeaning."

"Okay, okay," I raise my hands in surrender. "no dog mode."

Wolf huffs. "Come on. We've got to find a village or something. Until we figure out a way to get back to Earth, its best that we blend in with the other werewolves."

"Uh, slight problem with that plan? I'm not a werewolf." I remind him.

Wolf's tongue lolls out in a canine smile. Figures he would have to be another animal to express emotion. "What, do you think my kind change shape every second? Just wear the right clothing and act hungry. The vampires won't notice a thing."

I raise an eyebrow warily. "Why do I get the feeling that I'm really not going to like "the right clothing"?"

"It's not that bad. The stuff the vampires wear is worse."

"And what do you werewolves wear, exactly?"  
"Wolf pelts."

That makes me stop dead in my tracks. I stare at Wolf incredulously. He meets my gaze casually, as if he didn't just say that we were going to be wearing what is basically skin.

"Wolf pelts?" I repeat.

"Yes, it's the only thing that transforms with us and doesn't rip to pieces." Wolf replied matter-of-factly.

"You literally go out and kill animals, for clothing?"

Wolf gives me a look. Seriously, how is his wolf-face so expressive? That's just not right. "We don't wear them for fashion Kai, they aren't like those great big fur coats you humans wear made of seven extinct species of fox that are so thick you could drown in them. It is necessary to wear wolf pelts. We have to keep warm, and we can't just keep a bag full of spare clothing with us at all times in case we transform. Think of it like wearing wool if that helps."

I shudder. "I don't think I'm ever going to be able to wear a wool jumper again."

"Oh stop being so finicky." Wolf growls with irritation, "If you want to survive out here long enough to get home, your best chance is pretending to be a werewolf. And if you want to successfully pretend to be a werewolf, you've got to wear wolf pelts. Take it or leave it."

I blink at him. "When did you get so grouchy?"  
"I'm not grouchy!" He replies, sounding very grouchy.

Eventually, we come to a small village. When Wolf had said that we were going to a village, I'd pictured something similar to the village in "Beauty and the Beast", quaint little wooden houses with thatched straw roofs and happy people milling about haggling out prices for eggs. Just shows how much I know. Turns out, villages in Luna are not quaint, and definitely not happy. The houses are tiny shacks made of flaking concrete and flimsy wooden roofs. The paths are just dirt tracks lined with lamp posts with dead lights. The only spot of colour in the whole place is the silver tinge the moonlight casts over the matt grey and the flickering glow of a fire from glassless windows. Sometimes a long shadow would flit across the path as someone in one of the houses passed by the fire, but other than that the streets are empty.

I glance at Wolf. "Are all the villages like this."

"Pretty much." He says, a sad whine creeping into the rough growl of his voice, "Werewolves are lower class citizens in Luna. Making sure we lead healthy, happy lives isn't exactly one of the Queen's priorities."  
"So, the Queen rules over all the species of Luna?" I ask, "There's no separate government for each one?"

"The werewolves sort-of have a separate government ruled by our Alphas but they have next to no power. They're mostly just figureheads."

I open my mouth, more questions fast brewing on my tongue. How did the werewolf government system work? Are the "Alphas" like their kings and queens? Who's the Alpha now? But before I can even make a sound, Wolf turns away from me, walking out of the shadows and into the village.

"I'll try and find some clothes to hide us for the time being." He tells me quietly, "Stay put until I get back."

"As if there's anywhere I could go." I mutter bitterly. Wolf's ear twitches, but he says nothing as he creeps along the dark shadows of the shacks.

**A/N: Good news! My exams are finished! Now my writing schedule can get back to normal!**

**Please review!**


	39. Underestimated

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Thorne's POV:

**Underestimated**

I curiously turn over the metal collar in my hands. Even in the dull light of Cress's basement, it's painfully shiny to look at. Seriously, what is thing made of? Silver and diamonds?

"Won't we be pretty noticeable in these necklaces?" I ask Dr Erland as I try to open up the band.

Shooting me an impatient glare, he takes the collar from me. "This level of flashiness is pretty typical in Luna, especially among the vampires. No-one will even bat an eye." He presses a button on the collar and it snaps open.

"So what's the plan for saving Kai and overthrowing the vampire queen?" Scarlet asks casually.

Cinder stands up and I fight the urge to shrink away a bit. I've tried to joke about it and act like it doesn't bother me, but the fact that one of my best friends is a vampire is actually really, really scary. Suddenly, the girl who used to replace my hair gel with motor oil is a completely different person. A powerful, dangerous person.

"We're going to split up into two groups." She tells us, "Dr Erland, Cress and Thorne will be one group and Iko, Scarlet and I will be the other. Dr Erland's group will infiltrate the castle to search for Kai while my group will scout the less fortunate communities for new recruits for the revolution. Any questions?"

Everyone shakes their heads. I gotta say, I'm a bit surprised. I thought this thing would be super complicated with loads of phases and back-up plans. That's the way it works in the movies anyway. But I can work with simple.

Dr Erland turns to a weird little contraption sitting on the table. It looks like a black glass globe on some kind of metal podium.

"This device is called "The Bridge"," he says, gesturing to the machine, "It's what will transport us to Luna. In order for it to work, you must be within ten feet of it. I warn you, interdimensional travel is not instantaneous, and not comfortable."

"What about that whole thing where your body puts you through a load of agony if you go to the wrong dimension?" Scarlet asked.

"Those collars you're wearing will stabilise your bioelectricity." Dr Erland reassured her.

I glance over at Cinder. "Translation?"

"The collars make your body think your still in the right dimension, so you're spared the pain." She replies.

"Ah okay, that makes more sense."

Dr Erland huffs before turning back to The Bridge and pressing a button on the metal podium. The glass orb glows, softly at first, just a small pinpoint of light in the depths of the otherwise complete darkness of the glass. But it quickly grows brighter, and brighter, and brighter, till I have no choice but to look away as what is basically a second sun is born. And that's not even the worst part. The worst part is the humming. Just this painfully loud, unbelievably annoying humming that's like nails on a chalkboard inside my skull. When it's finally over, I instinctively check my ears to make sure they aren't bleeding.

"Aces and spades, a little warning next time?" I grumble, blinking open my eyes.

"I did say it wouldn't be comfortable." Dr Erland replies reproachfully.

"That was way worse that "not comfortable"!" Scarlet snaps back.

I finally lift my gaze to check out this whole new dimension, a separate sheet of reality that Kai is trapped in somewhere. My first impression? This place is dark. The only source of light is a city a couple of kilometres from where we are, with lights so bright and colourful, the place might as well have been a sun by itself. And God knows this place needs a sun. The sky is black as pitch with just a few points of light where the stars are blinking down at us. Ironically, there is no moon.

I whistle slowly. "Wonder what this place is like in the daytime?"  
"it isn't." Iko says, "On Luna, it's always night."

"Poor Lunars. They're really missing out."

"If you are done admiring the scenery, it's about time we split up." Dr Erland called over to us loudly.

I roll my eyes. Aces, what a grouch.

Cress and I follow her dad as he carefully leads us through the bright, bustling streets of the city I saw, which is apparently called "Artemisia". We duck out of the way of laughing nobles and pale, hurried servants, waiting for a chance to steal the right disguises.

Cress's chance comes first. She manages to duck into a boutique while her dad and I wait outside for her to come out with a spare maid's uniform tucked under her arm.

"Shouldn't I be picking up some servant's uniform too?" I ask Dr Erland.

He shakes his head. "it would be better to pass you off as a guard. We should have more freedom that way. We'll just have to hope none of the actual guards smell you and raise the alarm that there's a human in the castle."

I grin confidently. "I can sweet-talk my way out of it if that happens."

Dr Erland glares at me. "You clearly haven't fully comprehended the situation. These aren't simple-minded police officers or teachers, these are trained soldiers that won't hesitate to break your neck if they happen to suspect something's amiss, no matter if you're under eighteen or not."

"You clearly haven't fully comprehended my skill in the art of talking my way out of tricky situations." I reply, mimicking him.

He sighs in frustration. "Of all the kids who had to drag themselves into this, it had to be your kind."  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
"I mean that the last thing we need on this sort of mission is a cocky rebellious thrill-seeker who sees life as just a big game that they've already won! This isn't a joke, this is a serious, life-or-death situation that will end badly if you don't grow up within the next few hours!"

I narrow my eyes down at the old man, arguments fighting for control on the tip of my tongue. But I don't bother to say them. I know they'll fall on deaf ears. They always do. Every single time I've gotten this lecture with adults tell me that I take nothing seriously, that I'll amount to nothing if I don't get my act together and shape up, and fast, they won't even let me defend myself. Won't let me explain that yes, I do take things seriously, just because I tell jokes doesn't mean I'm a lost cause. They've fixed their view of me in their heads. And nothing I say, nothing will shift them from the view. So why bother now?

Eventually, Cress comes out of the boutique wearing the uniform of a maid, and I manage to hit a guard on patrol with a feathered umbrella I snagged from a shop. I'm tempted to ask what the fur the uniforms are made from is, but I'm kinda afraid of the answer. Now, there's only one disguise left to steal: a scientist uniform for Dr Erland. Which has to come from the royal labs. Piece of cake.

"Our best shot would be to sneak in through the training barracks for the guards." Dr Erland says as we stare at the castle.

"Uh, what about the whole "they'll-kills-us-if-they-realise-we're-not-Lunar" thing?" I hiss back.

"I'll talk us out of it." He says.

Cress glances at him uneasily. "Dad, you're not very good at making up lies on the spot. You're cover-story for having me hack into the Lunar government databases were pretty unbelievable. Maybe we should have Thorne do it. He's good at this kind of thing."

I grin at her, surprised. I thought Cress would've sided with her dad on this!

Unfortunately, Dr Erland doesn't share his daughter's opinion. "He thinks he's good at this kind of thing Crescent, but mark my words if he so much as opens his mouth he'll get us all killed faster than you can blink. I'll do the talking."

Cress shoots me an uneasy look. She clearly doesn't think that we'll fare that much better if we follow her dad's plan.

We circle around the castle until we come across the barracks. Young boys, maybe around fifteen, are all shooting at targets with pistols, doing push-ups under the supervision of an older guard, or fighting each-other in sparring matches. Occasionally, one of the fighters would suddenly turn into a giant wolf and attack their opponent with claws and teeth.

A shudder runs down my spine at the sight. My dad has taken me on a tour of some military schools to try and convince me to join the army and, even with the shapeshifting wolves, this training camp is dredging up some bad memories.

We walk through the barracks, with me in the lead, then Dr Erland, and finally Cress. For a moment, I think that maybe we will manage to walk through the whole place without getting stopped and questioned. The problem with moments is that they don't last very long.

"Hey, you!" one soldier calls out, walking towards us. I try to mimic his rigid upright stance, wincing as my spine creaks in complaint.

"What are you doing here?" He snaps.

Dr Erland opens his mouth, but I beat him to the punch. "I am escorting this scientist and his assistant back into the castle."

The guard raises and eyebrow. "And what were they doing outside the castle?"  
Once again Dr Erland tries to answer, once again I beat him to it. "The scientist was studying the bioelectricity of the Earthen dimension and had brought this servant along as his assistant to help him with the equipment. I was brought as security."

"Why didn't he just bring another scientist? There's no shortage of them around here." The guard asks suspiciously.

"It's a personal project of his." I quickly reply, "He believes that it may be possible to simulate our dimension in the Earthen dimension, rendering all of its residents immobile as their bodies destabilise providing the Queen with an easy take-over option. It's a bit too radical for Her Majesty's taste, and it is only being developed as a contingency plan."

"Well, I suppose it explains why you stink of human," the guard said, sniffing the air, "and why your scientist is dressed like that. Fine, you may proceed."

I give the stiffest bow I can muster and march through the barracks, Dr Erland and Cress trailing behind me.

Once we're inside the castle, Dr Erland immediately turns to me, his blue eyes wide behind his glasses. "How did you come up with that story so quickly?"  
I shrug, but don't bother hiding my smirk. "I just said the sciency words I understand and strung them with a bunch of talk about dimensions. If it sounds professional enough, people will usually snap it up." I grin at him smugly. "Still think I'm useless?"

**A/N: Sorry for the lack of Cresswell, but I just wanted to focus on Thorne and how he's handling all this. I promise, Cresswell will show up in this story. **

**Please review!**


	40. Questioned and Teased

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Wolf's POV:

**Questioned and Teased**

I quickly leave the village boundaries and lope over to where I left Kai. He seems to have calmed down a bit now, thank the stars. I can't just keep slapping him every time he has a mental breakdown.

I bark around the thick material in my mouth to get his attention and drop the clothes unceremoniously at his feet.

He smiles shakily at me. "Thanks. Are they different sizes?"

I nod.

"And I suppose the smaller ones are for me, huh?"

I nod again.

Kai sighs and begins sifting through the clothes pile, pulling out the ones that seem smaller. I take the ones that are left and go off into the trees to change.

Transforming into my human form is strangely easy, given the fact that I hadn't done much transforming for nearly a decade. But what was even stranger was wearing wolf pelts again. I haven't worn clothes like these since I was twelve. They feel… weird. Much heavier than the cotton t-shirts and denim pants I've grown accustomed to, and much warmer. The lingering wolf-scent wafts up from the fur, filling my nose and muffling my senses. Somehow, I remembered them as being a lot more comfortable. And less smelly. Probably just nostalgia for a time when my life wasn't just a never-ending torture chamber. I'm sure I'll come across other aspects of my old life while I'm here and wonder why they are so much worse than I remember them. And that's saying something, because I don't have many fond memories of my old life.

I finish changing and go off to find Kai.

"Hey!" I call out, "Are you done? We should get moving."  
Kai comes into view. The shirt and pants are too big for him, and hang off his form like a heavy, furry blanket.

"Do you think anyone'll get suspicious that my clothes don't fit?" He asks worriedly.

I shake my head. "They'd only be suspicious if they did. No offence, but you're a fair bit smaller than the average werewolf. People will assume you're the runt of the litter, and runts don't really get the good stuff. Again, no offence."

"None taken." Kai assures me, "Pretty sure even professional body-builders would be considered small be werewolf standards. It's not really that much of a blow to my pride that I'm a runt in their eyes."

"So is your name really Ze'ev?" Kai asks me as we walk through the village streets.

I nod. "My full name is Ze'ev Kesley."

"Huh. Sorry I didn't think to find out what your real name is sooner."

I wave my away his concern. "Don't worry about it. I prefer to be called Wolf anyway. People usually mispronounce Ze'ev. It gets annoying."

Kai frowns. "Still, I talked to you every day and I didn't even think to ask about your real name."

"To be fair, I wasn't the best conversation partner. And like I said, I don't mind."

"If you say so." Kai says hesitantly, "The Queen called you something else as well, I think it was "Alpha Assumed" or something?"

"Alpha Intended."

"Right, that. What does that mean?"

"It's a title given to the strongest of the Alpha's children. It basically means that, when the Alpha dies, that werewolf will succeed him."

"So… a prince."

"Basically, yes."  
Kai grins. "Should I bow and call you, "Your Majesty" from here on out?"

I groan. "Please don't. I've probably lost all claim to that title by now anyway."

"Did you wear a crown?"

"No."

"Were you betrothed to a beautiful princess?"

"Shut up."

"Did you ride around in a carriage and wave to your adoring subjects?"

I stomp on Kai's toes. He yelps in pain, but never loses his smirk.

"Okay, okay, I'll stop." He says, "Seriously though, did you have any duties as prince?"

"Alpha Intended," I correct him firmly, "and yes, but nothing like what you're imagining. I helped my parents distribute the rations and had dinner sometimes with the vampire monarchy, but my only job there was to stay quiet and do what the vampires told me. It wasn't a glamorous life; I didn't live in a castle, I didn't have a banquet for every meal, I didn't have servants. Really my life wasn't that much better than the common werewolves except I had a bit more to eat and I lived in a house that had more than one room."

Kai raises his eyebrows. "Wow… that doesn't seem much like royalty."

I sigh. "I told you, the werewolf Alphas are nothing more than figureheads. The vampires are the real ones in control. We just give out the food."

"I'm surprised the vampires actually let you keep your Alphas." Kai says.

I shrug. "They didn't have much of a choice. Werewolves are just as much wolf as we are human, and wolves need their hierarchy of Alphas, Betas and Omegas. If the vampires didn't let us keep the Alphas, we'd just pick another."

"I see…" Kai says hesitantly, "but you don't actually seem that wolf-like. I find it hard to believe you have wolfish instincts driving you to accept a certain type of hierarchy."

"Trust me, I have plenty of wolf in me." I tell him bitterly, "My thoughts are wolf-like, I get wolf-like urges and have wolf instincts. Or did me killing that vampire woman not convince you?"

"That was a bit brutal." Kai admits, "But if you hadn't killed her, the rest of us might have died. Scarlet would have died for sure. That doesn't-"

"Is she alright?" I ask suddenly, "Scarlet, I mean. Is she going to be okay? I saw how Sybil made her cut of her own finger."

Kai blinks in surprise. "Yeah, yeah she's fine. We got her to the hospital."

I don't bother to hide the way my shoulders sag with relief, or the sigh that blows out from my lips.

"You… care about this more than I expected." Kai admits.

My cheeks grow uncomfortably warm and I look down at the ground, suddenly embarrassed. "Scarlet was... nice to me. I don't want her to get hurt."

Kai narrows his eyes and a slow, teasing grin spreads across his face. "Are you blushing?"

I offer no reply, though my face quickly grows even hotter.

"Wolf…" Kai's voice has taken on a definite mocking tone now. "you like Scarlet, don't you?

I look away from him. "Work will be finishing soon, and everyone will be lining up to get their rations. We'd better find someplace to hide so we don't look suspicious."

"I'll take that as a yes." Kai says smugly.

I groan. Why can't the ground just swallow me up?

Kai sniggers. "Sorry, sorry, I shouldn't tease, but I just never thought I'd see the day where you'd have a crush on a girl."  
"Yeah, well, now you have." I mumble.

He glances around. "So what are we going to do when these streets fill up?"

"Line up to receive rations." I tell him, relieved at the change in subject, "It will look suspicious if we don't, and we might need the food later on."

I sudden loud beep sounds through the street and I wince. That sound isn't kind on the ears.

"What was that?" Kai asks worriedly, "Some kind of warning siren?"

"That," I tell him calmly, "is the signal that rations are available for pick-up. I hope you like stale bread."

**A/N: Okay, I know this chapter was boring, but next chapter, we'll be introduced to a new character, and they will play a pretty big role in the story, so bear with me for when that happens.**

**Please review!**


	41. A Familiar Face

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Wolf's POV:

**A Familiar Face**

The ration line moves slowly forward, its occupants looking down at the ground, their gazes dull, their skin pale. Any lingering feeling of nostalgia for my old home is well and truly gone now. I'd seen the starving, hopeless faces of all these people a thousand times when I was a kid. And every time I saw them, I felt guilty for even being there. I got three small meals a day, my clothes fit, I slept in a bed with a blanket. These people? Probably had none of that, and probably never will. I'd asked my parents about it once, about why we can't give them just a little more food. And they'd said because the vampires say so. That was the explanation for everything back then: why werewolves are the ones who have to work in the mines, why we live in such small, poorly made houses when there are huge mansions in Artemisia, why our food is always hard and tasteless. Because the vampires say so.

I sigh with frustration and anger, and a familiar scent wafts through the air, like flowers. I lift my gaze up to look over the bowed heads of the starving people, and my mouth goes dry. A small, frail-looking woman is handing out the packages of food, smiling faintly at the villagers as they take them. Her eyes are dark, but she has the same dark hair as me and the same olive-toned skin. She hasn't changed a bit since I was a kid, except for the fact that she looks much more tired and worn. But, if she's handing out the rations, then where's her mate? The duty is for both Alphas after all. Where's Dad?

As the line edges along, a war is being waged in my mind. On the one hand, I can't afford to let myself be recognised, unless I want to get myself killed and for Kai to become the Queen's newest plaything. On the other hand, this is my mother. She is probably the thing I've missed the most since I came to Earth. And here she is, standing just a few metres away, giving out the rations just like I remember. The temptation just to run up and hug her is nearly overwhelming. But I can't. For one thing, she might not believe me when I say I'm her son. After all, I'm nineteen now. I seriously doubt I look anything like my twelve-year-old self. And for another, knowing about Kai and I would only put her in danger if the vampires come knocking, and since the Queen somehow figured out who I am, that is very likely. No, I can't tell her. It's way too dangerous. So why is it so hard?

Finally, it's my turn. I keep my gaze trained on the ground, trying hard to avoid looking into my mother's face. She gives me the package, and my treacherous eyes flick up to meet hers, just for a moment. She doesn't move a muscle, not even a twitch. It might be my imagination, but I could almost swear she hesitates before finally letting go of the package of food. Maybe she's wondering why I look so much healthier than these other poor wretches.

I hurriedly leave the line, the package of food tucked safely into the crook of my arm, and duck into the shadows of the street. Moments later, Kai follows me with his own hand-out of rations.

"Alright, we've got food." He says quietly, "What do we do next?"  
"Don't know." I admit.

Kai puffs out his cheeks and sighs. "Well, let's just say our next step is getting back to Earth. Sound good?"  
I nod.

"Good. So, let's just figure out how to do that. How did you get to Earth?"

"By accident. A pretty stupid accident."

"What was the accident?"

I open my mouth to reply, but before I can get any words out, a clear, smooth voice floods the area.

"Citizens! May I please have your attention?"

Instantly, everyone freezes and stares fearfully at the man in the red coat. He's obviously a vampire, and to ignore a vampire is suicide.

The man smiles smugly and continues, "Two hours ago, the brave and noble soldiers of Luna successfully apprehended two dangerous criminals and brought them to our Great Queen to face judgement. In her boundless kindness, she offered them mercy, and they repaid her generosity by viciously attacking her."

I raise an eyebrow. Boundless kindness? Generosity? Mercy? Does this guy actually expect anyone to believe this?

"We have reason to believe that these criminals may have sought to hide in your village or others nearby." The man goes on, "Whoever turns them in, will receive triple rations for them and each individual member of their family."

That leaves an impact. The square fills with excited murmuring and all around us faces light up with longing and hunger. Except one, which darkens with disapproval.

"We can't supply that." My mother says, drawing herself up to her full (but still quite short) height. "Families are big out here. To supply that much food would leave the rest of the inhabitants starving. Well," she adds somewhat accusingly, "more than they already are."

The murmuring dies down as people process this and their eager faces turn suddenly uneasy.

The man waves an unconcerned hand, "That can easily be solved by giving a higher percentage of the food grown in the agricultural villages to the successful village. There is no need for concern."  
Mom's eye twitches with irritation, but she lets the subject drop. "Fine. Who are these criminals anyway? What are their names?"  
"Their names are unimportant." The man replies airily, "What matters is bringing them to justice."  
"Well then, what do they look like? You can't expect these people to hunt and capture them without a description."  
"These people have lived here all their lives." Says the man, "I'm sure they can recognise an unfamiliar face."

Mom raises an eyebrow. "Are you honestly willing to take that chance if these criminals are so very dangerous?"

The man's eyes harden and my breath catches in my throat. Mom is playing a very dangerous game here. Why won't she just let it drop? It would be far safer for her that way.

"One is small and skinny, with pale skin, brown eyes and black hair." The man says, his voice tight.

Kai looks down at himself. "Pretty sure these people are skinnier than I am."

I step on his foot.

"And the second criminal?" My mother prompts.

"Big and bulky with brown hair." The man says simply.

"That's… a lot less detailed than my description." Kai notes, "Think it might be because of the fact that you're a prince?"  
"_Alpha Intended_," I say through gritted teeth, "and I seriously doubt that. I didn't really do much."

The man turns back to my mother, his mouth quirked in a pleased smile that doesn't reach his eyes.

"Do you have any _final _questions?" He asks, "I warn you, if you do, I'm afraid you won't be able to ask anything again."  
My mother scowls. Like me, she's picked up on the not-so-subtle threat. Unlike me, however, she's doing a fairly good job at hiding her true emotions.

A growl rumbles in my throat and I take an instinctive step forward, when a hand suddenly rests on my arm. I snap my head around to face the insolent beta, baring my teeth. The colour rapidly drains from Kai's face, but his voice is steady as he says, "Wolf… did you mean to grow claws and fangs?"

I blink and shake my head, trying to clear the fog from my mind. Kai's right, my teeth are much longer than they were a few seconds ago, and same goes for my nails and fingers. Even as I notice them, they shrink back to normal.

I sigh and glance apologetically at Kai. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Kai assures me with a grin, "But, why did you suddenly shape-shift like that?"

"My abilities have been acting a bit funny lately." I admit, "It's nothing to worry about. I just struggle to stay completely in one form, that's all." _At least this time nothing was dislocated._

**A/N: I love Maha Kesley. In my opinion she's one of the toughest characters in the series. Which is why next chapter's going to be in her POV **

**Please review!**


	42. Strange Visitors

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Maha's POV:

**Strange Visitors**

"You'd think it would be enough for them that we all live in poverty while they eat ten large meals a day in giant houses." I grumble, pacing the floor. "Now we have to hunt down their criminals for them?"

My son, reclining on his rickety wooden chair as if it were a throne, merely yawns. "I'm sure the vampires know what they're doing Mother." He says unconcernedly.

I gape at him. "How can you be so careless about this? These are your people, Ran!"  
"That's "Alpha" to you." He snarls down at me, "And my people are strong and resourceful. I'm sure they can handle a couple of outlaws."  
"They aren't strong, they're starving to death!" I tell him angrily, "And they aren't resourceful, they're desperate. It's about time you actually took an interest in the well-fare of your pack Ran. If you would just hand out the rations like you're supposed to-"

"I told you, call me Alpha!" He snaps, "And in case you have forgotten, Mother, we are wolves, not bunny rabbits. We don't coddle our weakest members, we leave them to die. In our society, it's survival of the fittest. If the pack so desperately requires my help, then they don't deserve to be part of the pack."

I clench my fists at my sides and silently count to ten. In the past, I wouldn't have hesitated to reprimand my child for such disrespect towards his pack. But things have changed now, the pack has changed now, Ran has made sure of that. So, I force myself to stiffly lower my head in a bow, and say through gritted teeth, "As you wish, Alpha."

Ran smirks and waves his hand, as if shooing away a fly. "Of you go then, Mother. I'm hungry, it's about time I had something to eat."  
_You used to be able to handle a bit of hunger._ I think to myself bitterly, before hurrying out of the room. I'm afraid that if I stay a moment longer, I might do something I'll regret.

I go to the only place where I feel comfortable and safe: the garden. I used to feel safe in the entire house, but since Ran took over as Alpha things have changed. He's had more rooms added on, hired Omegas and runts as slaves, and has taken more food out of the rations so he could eat whenever he wanted. Though I suppose the only one I have to blame for that is myself. I'm Ran's mother, it was my job to raise him and make sure he turned out alright, a worthy Alpha. And I failed at that, I failed miserably.

I walk to the brightest spot in the garden: a small patch of blue daisies. They look strangely happy, given that they only exist to mourn a death. The death of my eldest son, about seven years ago now? He liked these flowers, so I always make sure there are some growing here. He'd like that, I think.

My son's name was Ze'ev. He was twelve when he died, and was mourned by the entire pack. He was a wonderful Alpha Intended, he always did his duties, tried to be good to his people, and was strong. Ever since he was five years old, he'd been training, learning how to fight, growing strong. Because, as Ran said, we are wolves, and if Ze'ev was going to be Alpha, he had to be strong. He was always getting challenged to fights, many of which sent him home covered in blood. I knew that it had to be done, but still, seeing him stumble through the door, smiling weakly as blood dripped steadily off his forehead… that hurt me just as much as it hurt him. Several times I tried to ban him from going out so he wouldn't have to fight some random brute and get hurt. And each of those times he gently reminded me that the fights had to happen. But that didn't make it hurt any less. And then came that night, all those years ago, when my family and I were visiting the vampires for a dinner invitation. We were invited to stay the night, and we accepted. The absolute worst decision of my life. I still have nightmares about Ran running into mine and my husband's room late at night, crying that Ze'ev wasn't in his bed. The vampires wouldn't let us search for him until morning. There was no trace of my son. He was just, gone. Eventually we were forced to admit that he must have gotten into an accident and… lost his life. I thought I'd never see him again after that night, that he had been snatched away from my life forever. I definitely didn't expect to see him lining up to receive rations today, now practically an adult, his green eyes as bright as they were all those years ago. But I am so, so glad I did.

"Maha Kesley?" A quiet voice says behind me.

I yelp and turn around, my nails elongating into claws. The poor Omega flinches away and continues, "There are some vampires at the door Ma'am. Two of them, with a fairy. They want to speak to the Alpha, but he said not to disturb him while he's eating."  
I force myself to relax and smile at the Omega. "That's alright, I'll meet with them. Thank you for telling me."

As soon as I see the visitors, I know something's off. For one thing, they're very young, barely out of their puppyhood, certainly not people the royal family typically trusts with this sort of thing. Then there's the fact that they look less than perfect. One of them has her hair tied back very messily, and her cheeks have smears of dirt on them. The other one looks a bit better, but if her smell is anything to go by, is not even a vampire. She smells more like that young man in the ration line this morning, the polite one with the black hair that said "thank-you". Maybe I'm losing my sense of smell? And then there's the fairy. I've seen fairy maids before. They all have a sad, defeated look in their eyes. This one looks almost exhilarated, like she's just come back from a wild adventure. Or maybe is still in one. Either way, it's not right. Something's going on here. And there's only one way I'm going to find out what.

I plaster on a smile and bow down low to the visitors. "Good day to you, great vampires. How may I be of assistance."  
The one with messy hair clears her throat uncomfortably "We're here to see the Alpha."

"I'm afraid the Alpha is occupied at this moment." _Stuffing his face,_ I add to myself privately.

"Oh," the messy vampire frowns, disappointed, "When do you think he'll be available?" 

Now this is new. A vampire never asks when that person is available. They simply expect them to make themselves available. Not that I'm complaining. It's a very pleasant change. 

"I don't know." I admit, "How about I give you a tour of our home while you wait."  
"Sounds perfect." The other vampire, the one with the funny smell, grins.

During the tour, it becomes increasingly clear that these girls aren't your typical vampires. They're polite, for one thing. When I offered them some stale biscuits for a snack, they didn't complain, not even a little. They even said thank-you! I've never heard a vampire say thank-you, never! They complimented the sparse decorations, asked questions about how my day was going. It has been forever since I've hosted such polite guests! And that fairy… it makes me exhausted just being near her. All the time she's firing off questions and conversation topics like a very happy machine gun. "What's your dress made out of?" "I love the feel of this place!" "Your necklace is so pretty! What are those charms?"

I didn't have the heart to tell her they were wolf-teeth.

Finally, we arrive at the garden. The fairy immediately gasps and runs over to the blue daisies. "These are so pretty! They add a real splash of colour to the place! You have excellent taste Ma'am!"  
"Um… thank you." I reply.

"How do you grow them?"

I turn and blink with surprise at the strange-smelling vampire. "Pardon?"  
"How do you grow them?" she asks again curiously, "Without light I mean."

I blink at her, confused. "Why would light make a difference?"  
The vampire with messy hair suddenly clears her throat loudly, "So, um, why are you growing them here? You don't usually see many flowers in these parts."  
"I grow them for my son." I tell them, "He liked these flowers."  
The fairy frowns at me. ""Liked", past tense?"  
I nod solemnly. "He died, seven years ago."

A blanket of quiet falls over us, with my guests' eyes widening with shock. And then… then comes the most shocking part of their visit. The vampire with the messy hair walks up to me, places a hand on my shoulder, and says quietly, respectfully, "I'm so sorry."

The other vampire and fairy nod and voice their agreement.

"What was his name?" the strange-smelling vampire asks.

"Ze'ev." I reply.

The vampire's eyes widen, and she stumbles back a few steps, like she'd been punched.

I raise an eyebrow. "You've heard of my son?"  
"I-" she clears her throat, her pale freckled cheeks flushing as red as her fiery hair, "yeah, I might have heard of him somewhere."  
"Surprising, since I can't seem to recognise you're species."

The girl blinks at me, and her friends turn stiff as poles. "My what?"  
"Your species. If you're a vampire, a werewolf, a fairy, that sort of thing." I explain, "You don't smell like any of them."  
"It's a new perfume that is popular in Artemisia at the moment." The messy one hurriedly explains, "She must have put on a little too much."  
"Is it also popular to glamour dirt onto your face?" I ask innocently.

The vampire's eyes widen and she hurriedly scrubs at her cheeks, as if that could make me forget.

I fold my arms and feel a small smirk play across my lips. "You aren't ambassadors, are you?"

**A/N: In case you haven't notice, I absolutely love Maha Kesley and hate Ran. I think Maha is definitely one of the best characters in the series, even though she didn't stay for long (why Marissa Meyer?).**

**Please review!**


	43. Allies

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Cinder's POV:

**Allies**

_Stupid, stupid, stupid! _I think furiously to myself. Leave it to me to forget that a werewolf would be able to tell Scarlet isn't a real vampire from her smell, and that a vampire would never, ever look anything short of perfect. They certainly wouldn't have dirt on their face. Now, somehow, I have to try and convince this frustratingly shrewd lady that we are, in fact, who we say we are. And hope she doesn't turn us in to the Queen.

"Of course we're ambassadors!" I say with a forced laugh.

"Oh?" the lady says, arching an eyebrow, "Is the Queen sending teenagers to check on political affairs now?"  
"It's a glamour." I say quickly, "It's the latest fashion to make yourself look like you're still an adolescent. You know who it is, you hit eighteen and all of a sudden your beauty is slipping through your fingers."  
"And I suppose that dirt on your face is supposed to enhance that "beauty"?"

I rub my cheeks self-consciously, my mind racing to come up with a believable lie about that. Fortunately, Iko comes to my rescue.

"It makes your best features look even lovelier!" She says brightly, "Those dirt smears for example, truly draw the casual onlookers' attention to My Lady's lovely skin-tone, don't you think?"

"I think it's very odd for a fairy to be so outgoing." The lady remarks dryly, "Aren't you afraid of a beating for speaking out of turn so much?"  
Iko's smile freezes in place and I fight the urge to slap myself on the forehead. Damn it!

The woman smiles and waves a casual hand. "You don't have to worry, I won't give you away. You don't seem like the normal, arrogant vampires we usually get strutting about here like they own the place. It's very refreshing."  
She folds her arms and gives us an appraising look. "So. Are you going to tell me why you snuck into the Alpha's home pretending to be ambassadors?"  
I exchange glances with Scarlet and Iko. Both look as unsure as I feel.

The woman gives a frustrated sigh. "Just what do I have to do to get you to trust me? I'm not going to report you. Any reward I could get from that would immediately be taken from me by the Alpha, assuming it's not rewarded to him in the first place despite not doing anything."

"You don't seem to hold a lot of respect for the Alpha." Scarlet remarks.

The woman sighs. "I used to. But I lost it long ago. Anyway, don't change the subject! Why are you here, and pretending to be ambassadors?"  
"You probably wouldn't believe us if we told you." I tell her.

"Try me. I've seen plenty of strange things in my lifetime, believe it or not."

Scarlet shrugs at me. "For what it's worth, she seems pretty trustworthy to me. And besides, if she reports us now, we're probably going to get carted off to a dungeon and/or executed, right? It's not like we can dig ourselves in any deeper than we already have."

The woman nods at Scarlet and looks at me expectantly. Inwardly, I groan. Why do I have to be the leader?

"Alright." I sigh, "I hope you're ready for a very, very long story." 

I'm surprised by how easily everything comes tumbling out. Maybe it's because I've already let some other people in on the secret, maybe it's because of the fact that I'm talking to a fellow Lunar. But just because I can talk about it easily doesn't mean the woman can understand it easily. By the time I'm done, her eyes are roughly the size of saucers, and her jaw has long since hit the floor.

"A revolution… against the Queen of Luna?" She says incredulously.

I nod.

"The same Queen who is capable of controlling the thoughts and emotions of dozens of people at once without about as much effort as it would take for her to clap her hands?"

I nod again.

"The same Queen who has the support of the most powerful vampires on Luna, as well as all of our strongest werewolves and our Alpha?"

I nod again.

The woman shakes her head with amazement. "Just how, exactly, were you hoping to pull this off?"  
I shift my weight awkwardly. "Well, I was hoping to recruit the werewolves. You know, seeing as how your species is the one that suffers the most under Levana's rule. We actually came here to negotiate with your Alpha and try to convince him to join us. But if you're sure he's under the Queen's thumb…"  
The woman tilts her head to one side. "It's true that the Alpha is under the Queen's total control. But you might still get the werewolves on your side."

My gaze snaps up to meet hers. Catching my hopeful look, she warns me, "I'm not saying they'll definitely join you. Remember, this revolution you're planning will in all probability get everyone involved killed."  
"Don't remind me." I grumble.

"But they do live a pretty terrible life under the vampire rule." The woman continued, "The young ones might join up. I'm not too sure about the older folk, and some of the villages get special treatment by the Queen, but there's a more or less decent chance that a good deal of the werewolves will support your cause."  
"That's more than I was hoping for." I assure her, "Do you have any recommendations on where we can start recruiting?"

"Well…" the woman says musingly, "there is a village I stopped by to hand out rations today. It's not the biggest or the most downtrodden, but they certainly aren't living the good life, and I saw a couple of new faces there today." She gestures towards Scarlet. "One of them smelled a bit like her, a young man with black hair."  
"You saw him?" I blurt out before I can stop myself. The woman's mouth quirks into a smile. "I take it you know him then?"  
I nod, relief blooming inside my chest. She must be talking about Kai. How many other humans with black hair were wandering around Luna? He must have somehow managed to escape from Levana. But…

"If you could smell him, that means other werewolves can too." I say worriedly, "He's probably been caught by now."

The woman waves away my concern. "I wouldn't worry about it. The clothes my people wear have a very strong smell of wolf about them. I only really thought about how his scent was different when I noticed your friend's smell. He should be safe, for a little while. Still, you might want to go and pick him up soon. The Queen's sent out a call for some outlaws, and the descriptions given for one of them was a very close match of your friend."  
I nod in understanding. "We'll do that, and thank you, Ma'am. You've been an enormous help."  
"Please," the woman says with a smile, "call me Maha."

**A/N: Looks like our little revolution is gaining some traction.**

**Please review!**


	44. Backstory

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Kai's POV:

**Backstory**

I'm starting to grow used to Luna. I don't like the place, no amount of time spent here will make me like it, but I'm not on the brink of hyperventilating anymore, so I guess that's something. But just because I'm not worrying about Luna (as much) doesn't mean I've stopped worrying altogether. Especially when my guide and only source of information about this place can't seem to stay in one shape.

Wolf and I have been wandering around the village for about an hour now, just waiting for curfew so there's less of a chance that any soldiers will notice us. And in that hour, Wolf's face turned into a muzzle, he suddenly grew a tail, his hands turned really big and clawed and his teeth grew into fangs, to name a few incidents. And don't get me started on the fact that his limbs don't want to stay in their sockets for some reason. I've lost count of the times we'd just be standing in the shadows, hoping no-one will notice us, when all of a sudden, _pop!_ Wolf's arm dislocated! I'm getting really tired of helping him shove the wayward limbs back into their sockets. I've asked him about it a few times, but he just shrugs it off, says that it's probably because he went so long without shape-shifting, and carries on like nothing happened. Until another limb dislocates again, like right now.

"Would it help if you turned into a wolf?" I ask as he shoves his knee back into place with an annoyed growl. "You know, since this is happening because you haven't shape-shifted for such a long time and judging by the fact that your arms and legs can't even stay in their designated places on your body, your skeleton really wants to be a different shape."  
"Won't work." He says simply as he gingerly tests his leg, "I'll be stable for a while, but then my body will just keep trying to shift into human form."

I sigh and run a hand through my hair. "Well, maybe you could just keep your shape in constant flux. Will that make this stop?"  
Wolf shakes his head. "I don't think so. And even if it did, I wouldn't risk it. It's unusual for a werewolf to be constantly shifting forms. Well, it's unusual for a werewolf older than six."

I huff and shake my head in mock frustration. "Of all the werewolves I had to get stuck with, it had to be the nineteen-year-old who already looks like they're in their early twenties.

Wolf cocked his head to one side, frowning with confusion. "Sorry?"  
"I was making a joke."

"Oh."

I look up at the sky, though pure darkness is probably the more accurate term. "How much longer until we can leave? I still don't get how you can tell time here without day and night."  
Wolf shrugged. "There are clocks stationed around each village, but I think most people just rely on their hunches. You manage to get a pretty strong indication of how much time has passed after a few years."  
I forcefully shove the idea that I could end up staying in this God-forsaken place for years to the back of my mind. "Do you still have that inner clock?"  
"I'm guessing we've got… maybe half an hour?" Wolf ventures hesitantly, "I've gotten pretty used to using watches and stuff since coming to Earth, so my sense of time might be a little off."  
"I'm willing to bet it's better than what I've got though, so we'll go with half an hour. In the meantime, we should really start thinking about a way to get back to Earth."

"Do you actually have an idea on how to get back? Because I'm running a blank." Wolf says.

"Well, how did you end up on Earth in the first place?" I ask, "That should give us an idea ln how to get back."

"I seriously doubt it will help."

"You never know, it might. And so far, it's the best indication we have on how to get to Earth since I have no idea how we wound up here."  
Wolf sighed. "I guess I can't argue with that. My family was staying over at the Royal Palace for the night. I guess the Queen was trying to make herself look like a friend to the werewolves or something. Anyway, my younger brother, Ran woke me up in the middle of the night to go exploring."  
"You have a brother?" I blurt out.

Wolf nods, his normally bright eyes dimming with sadness. "I didn't really want to go with Ran. I thought that we might get in trouble for snooping around. But I was also curious to find out what the palace was like. I'd never seen anywhere like it. It was just so… big. And comfortable. And bright. So we went exploring. At first, it was fun. Quickly hiding from guards on patrol who pretended they didn't know we were there, scaring the night servants, raiding the kitchens, just typical kid stuff. Then we found the science labs. And some idiot had left the door open."  
"And you went inside?" I guess.

Wolf gives a heavy sigh and nods. "This time, Ran didn't even wait to see if I would go with him, and I couldn't just let him go in there alone. So we poked around the labs, Ran still acting like it's all a game and me desperately trying to convince him otherwise. Eventually, we came across this room. It had a giant machine inside. I remember it looked like a really big glass ball. It was humming. And it had a weird glow in the middle of it. By then I'd just about had my fill of the castle and was ready to go back to bed. The labs were freaking me out, and that globe thing was downright terrifying, to me at least. But Ran was either much braver or much crazier than I was, because he then went about "getting a closer look". And by getting a closer look, I mean pressing all the buttons on the many control consoles around the globe."

I raise an eyebrow. "How old was your brother at this time?"  
"Eleven."  
"Okay, if he was five, I could blame that on youthful enthusiasm and curiosity, but at eleven, that's just stupidity."

"Well, he didn't exactly have much of an education. We were taught how to read, write, and very basic math, but we knew next to nothing about science. He was probably just curious about all the buttons."

I raise a sceptical eyebrow but say nothing. After all, Ran is Wolf's brother not mine. He probably knows him better. Still, I can't shake the feeling that an eleven-year-old impulsively pushing buttons in a science lab with a big, humming, glowing machine seems a little strange.

"Eventually, the globe started humming really, really loudly." Wolf continues, "I remember feeling surprised that my ears weren't bleeding. And the glow that used to be just in the centre of the globe was growing to fill the whole thing. It was shaking as well, and the consoles were sparking. When that happened, it was too much even for Ran. He bolted for the door and closed it before I could get out. I tried to reopen it, but I guess it had an automatic lock or something, and I couldn't get out. I yelled for Ran to try opening it from his end, but he must've kept running after he closed the door and didn't hear me. All I could do was hide behind one of the consoles as the globe kept growing brighter and brighter, and the humming grew louder." He frowns, "I – I think I must have blacked out, or something along those lines. Everything afterward was just a mess of colour and sound. When I came to my senses, I was in Earth."  
"So… you ended up in Earth because your brother locked you in a room, after activating a mysterious machine, and didn't come back to help you?" I ask.

Wolf glares at me. "Ran was just a kid, how was he to know that thing would send me to another dimension? Or that the door would lock automatically after closing it?"  
"How could he not notice that his brother wasn't with him as her ran away?" I retort.

"He probably thought I was right behind him."  
I sigh. "I'm just saying, it seems a little weird."

Wolf raises an eyebrow at me. "Kai, this place has werewolves, vampires, fairies and elves, which everyone in your dimension thinks are just creatures from fairy tales, horror stories and romance novels. Everything here is weird by your standards." 

That's definitely not what I meant, and Wolf knows it. But before I can argue further, wretched, high-pitched helpless cries ring through the cool air, making any words that I might say die on my tongue.

**A/N: And this is how Wolf came to Earth. **

**Please review!**


	45. Fight

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Wolf's POV: 

**Fight**

I'm already running before the scream has finished. I'm not sure what possesses me. Abuse is common in the less-fortunate villages (well, the less_er_-fortunate ones). The stars know I've heard screams just like this one in my childhood, when I was just handing out the rations with my parents. I'd been trained to ignore them, block them out, just like all the other children. Everyone learned at some point or another what happens when you step in. But I guess my years away have made that training go rusty.

The person screaming is a small boy, maybe around eight or nine. By the time we actually arrive, his screams have been reduced to helpless sobs. A soldier stands above him, kicking him repeatedly in the stomach, his brow creased with irritation.

"Did you seriously think that we wouldn't notice that you had taken extra rations? Honestly pup, have your parents taught you nothing? The Queen's laws are present to keep Luna healthy and prosperous, and you dare undermine them?" he scoffs. "Hopefully that stupidity will leave you before you grow up, otherwise the future for your family is going to be very, very dark."  
The boy didn't reply. He couldn't over his own sobs and gasps as the wind got knocked out of him over and over again. All he could do was curl himself up into a ball in a vain attempt at protecting himself against the soldier's wrath. He couldn't even transform. Civilians weren't allowed to attack the soldiers, or escape punishment. Any transformation could be taken as an indication of either of those things. If the kid dared try it, he'd have a lot more to worry about than a bruised stomach.

I know the best thing to do would be to attempt to negotiate with the soldier that the boy has served his punishment and could go and hope to the stars that they would actually comply. I've seen it happen, with families trying to help each-other. Under no circumstances are you to directly interfere with the soldier's punishment. I know all this. Unfortunately, Kai doesn't.

He runs forward and shoves the soldier to the side, away from the boy. The soldier stumbles back a few steps, more out of surprise than anything, and narrows his eyes at Kai, who glares back. "Alright, I think that kid's gotten the message. You can quit torturing him now."  
"Torture?" the soldier repeats incredulously, "This pup broke the law. It is my job to administer punishment for transgressions like that."

"I think being kicked in the gut a dozen times is more than enough punishment for being hungry." Kai counters, "Honestly, look at him! Look at all the people here! They're starving! And all those vampires up in Artemisia are stuffing their faces with ten course meals every night! I'm sure you can part will a little extra food."

The boy is staring up at Kai, not with gratitude but like he's staring at a bomb. Which he sort-of is. Talking back to soldiers is bad, but questioning the system with which the vampires govern our lifestyles? That is practically suicide.

I sigh and start making my way over. Maybe I can still defuse the situation, say that Kai was sleepwalking or something. Kai won't get away unscathed, that's for sure, but maybe I can keep him from getting scarred.

The soldier raises an eyebrow at him. ""They're" starving. Don't you mean, "we're"?"

Never mind. We're dead.

"And how do you know what it's like in Artemisia? Werewolf rabble like you don't go there." The soldier sniffs the air and exaggeratedly wrinkles his nose. "And what's with you're smell? Like… raw meat, only sweeter."

Kai rolls his eyes. "It's not like hygiene is very good around here. I haven't bathed in a while."

"You look plenty clean to me." The soldier remarks.

"Then… you need to get your eyes checked."

The soldier tilts his head to one side. "What was the description Thaumaturge Park gave for one of the outlaws again? Small, skinny, pale, brown eyes, black hair?"  
"I haven't seen anyone like that if that's what your asking." Kai says, and I flinch at the slight tremble in his voice. I feel my bones shift beneath my skin with subtle clicks, and my jaw develops a familiar ache as my teeth grow to barely fit in my mouth.

"I think you've misunderstood. _You're_ small. _You're _skinny. _You're_ pale with brown eyes and black hair. You talk like you don't live here. You act like you don't live here." The soldier smiles, and I can see the gleam of his fangs in the lamplight. "Looks like I've found one of the outlaws." 

That's as far as he gets before I slam into him, a growling mass of claws, teeth and muscle.

He cries out in surprise as I knock him to the ground, not even giving him time to blink before gripping the scruff of his uniform in my teeth and throwing him down the path. The soldier fixes me with a malevolent stare, fur sprouting rapidly along his arms. I don't bother waiting for him to finish shapeshifting.

I quickly shift my vocal cords and jaw just enough to yell, "Get out of here!" to Kai before bounding forward and sinking my jaws into the soldier's shoulder. His cry of pain is somewhere between a scream and a howl as he attacks my underbelly, dragging still-growing claws against my flesh. I jump off and dart around him, lunging forward again, jaws wide open, aiming for my opponent's neck. Now fully shifted into his wolf-form, he just manages to twist his neck out of harm's way and my teeth snap at the air. He raises his head to the starless sky and howls, a long, eerie note that I know every wolf could hear from miles away. And those wolves will come. This is a summoning, and every wolf it calls to is bound to obey. Soon, it won't just be one on one.

Guess I'd better finish this fast then.

I shift my form again, giving me legs and arms with long, claw-tipped fingers, much like the humans' idea of a werewolf, and lunge forward, savouring the other wolf's howl of pain as my claws scratch across his eye. I give him half a second to memorise what it feels like to see before going after the other one.

Blood drips down the soldier's face, staining the fur around his muzzle, dripping from his now permanently closed eyes. He growls and his ears twitch, swivelling back and forth, ready to pick out my location. Not that it will do much good at this point. In a fight, sight is your most valuable asset.

I go back to my regular wolf form and dart forward, easily passing beneath the other wolf's guard and biting down hard on his throat. I'm a bit surprised by the strong flow of the blood gushing into my mouth, coating my tongue in its iron tang. When I pull back, my muzzle is wet with the stuff, as are my claws, but not nearly as wet as the fur around my victim's throat, and the path beneath him.

A familiar feeling of triumph swells in my chest at the sight of his blank, staring eyes. I've won. The challenger has been defeated. I'm stronger. At least, that's what the wolf part of me says. The human part wants to throw up at the smell of blood and the sight of the deep gash in the wolf's throat.

I'm so focused on the war between my thoughts, of the feelings of both nausea and triumph swirling around inside me, that I don't notice the wolf sneaking up on me until they're literally right on top of me.

I growl and struggle to get up, but a soldier in human form rushes forward and presses a damp, sweet-smelling cloth to my nose. More wolves arrive and hold me down, keeping me from moving as the smell of the cloth floods my senses, laying a heavy blanket over my thoughts. My eyelids grow heavy with drowsiness, and my muscles are fast losing their strength. Darkness encroaches my vision. I have just enough time to wonder if this is how that soldier felt when I blinded him before slipping into unconsciousness.

**A/N: Fight scene! **

**Please review!**


	46. Reunited

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Kai's POV:

**Reunited**

I can hear the howls of pain from the fighting wolves slowly fading behind me as I turn down a random street in my desperation to get away. I can only hope that the cries aren't coming from Wolf.

_Don't think about that right now, _I tell myself, _focus on getting away. If you get caught, you're no use to Wolf or anyone. _

The loose dirt of the path shifts beneath my feet, making me stumble as I frantically try to keep my balance. I have no idea where I'm going, only that it's away from the guards. I hope. Gah, I wish I was back home. At least there I know where I'll end up if I turn a random corner. Here, for all I know, I'm running right into the waiting jaws of a Lunar soldier.

Finally, I reach a place I recognise: the town square, where that woman was handing out rations and that vampire issued the call for mine and Wolf's arrest. Maybe from here, I can find my way out of the village! All I have to do is avoid drawing attention to myself-

My thoughts come to an abrupt halt as I suddenly plow into something. Something alive, judging by the surprised yelp and the undeniable warmth emanating from it.

I scramble to my feet, mouth opening for a quick "sorry", then closing again when I notice the rich, luxurious quality of the person's clothes. Even though I've been here for less than a day (I think), I know there's only one race here that wears clothes that high-quality: vampires. Great.

I turn on my heel and push my legs to run even faster, heading for one of the paths branching off from the square. I'm not paying attention as to which path it is. It can be the one I just went through for all I care. I just have to get away from that vampire. As far away as possible. I can't stop. They'll catch me if I do. I can't-

"Kai?"

I stop.

I cast a bewildered glance over my shoulder, wondering how this vampire could know my name. I hadn't told anyone here as far as I know. I definitely haven't let it slip to a vampire. So how…?

A familiar face stares back at me, looking as shocked as I am.

"Cinder?" I say disbelievingly. What was she doing here? 

She looks me up and down, her mouth opening like she had something to say, before closing, then opening again, like a goldfish. _A rather pretty goldfish, _I catch myself thinking, and hurriedly banish the thought from my head, my cheeks prickling with warmth.

"Feel free to say something anytime soon before the rest of us die of awkwardness."

I blink and look up at a familiar red-haired girl scowling down at us. How did I not notice she was there before? And she's not the only one.

Iko is hovering just behind Cinder, looking between her and me happily, her hands pressed dreamily against her cheeks and an adoring smile lighting up her face. And looking just plain confused is a short, frail-looking woman. Hey, wasn't she the one that was handing out rations before? 

Finally, I find my words. "What are you all doing here? How are you even here?"

Cinder clears her throat as she awkwardly gets up and dusts herself off. "Well, we found this footage of you getting captured and we figured that our whole revolution thing had been put off long enough so, hey, why not kill two birds with one stone, so… here we are."

Scarlet smirks conspiratorially. "That's Cinder speak for she was freaking the heck out."

Cinder shoots her a glare, a distinct blush spreading across her cheeks.

I'm still torn between shock and relief at seeing some familiar faces here, and my own face can't seem to decide whether it's supposed to be grinning or going slack and letting my jaw hit the floor. It eventually decides on abject horror at the familiar sounds of growls and thundering paws smacking against the Earth.

"Run away now, talk later?" I suggest nervously.

"That's probably a good idea." Cinder agrees.

The woman who was handing our rations before points to one of the paths. "Follow me. This way is the quickest way out of the village."

Is it stupid to follow a woman you don't know who is an actual honest to goodness werewolf just like the ones chasing after you? Maybe. But we didn't have too many options and hey, Cinder, Iko and Scarlet seem to trust her. So I find myself running as fast as my legs can carry me along the path, always uncomfortably aware of the barks and snarls of the wolves that seem to be just behind me. It is only when we are safely in the shelter of the encroaching trees that I realise I can't hear them anymore.

Heaving a sigh, I lean against a tree trunk. "Man, I'm so done with running for my life."  
"You've had to run for your life before?" Iko asks.

"When the only person you know in this dimension nearly bites off the hand of a lady that wants to brainwash you into becoming her slave and who as a consequence sends soldiers to hunt you and said person down, you get your fair share of experience."

"There's someone else here that you know? You've only known this place existed for a day!" Scarlet says.

I turn to her, ready to explain the whole situation about Wolf actually being a werewolf-prince, but hesitate. I remember the way his face turned bright red when I mentioned her, how worried he looked when he was asking if she was okay, and the relief that spread across not just his face but his whole being when I told her she was.

"Well, when I say "know" I don't mean "know" like I know you guys." I stammer, "I didn't even know they're name up until a few days ago. They were just the wolf that killed Sybil."  
Scarlet raises an eyebrow, obviously not satisfied, but before she can make a protest, Cinder cuts in. "You chose to trust someone you know to be a murderer?"

I grin sheepishly. "Hey, anyone who kills vampires must hate vampires and, you know the old saying, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend"."

"So, basically, you put your safety in the charge of a proverb." Cinder clarified.

I shrug. "Pretty much."

She smacks herself in the face.

Scarlet looks around exaggeratedly. "So, where is this person-who-you-know-but-don't-know?"

I look back into the village, a grimace twitching across my features. "They stayed behind to distract the werewolves so I could get away. But, since they didn't seem very distracted when they were chasing us…"

Scarlet sighs and looks away from me, crossing her arms over her chest. "They got him."

**A/N: The gang's back together! Kinda…**

**Please review!**


	47. Awkward

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Cinder's POV:

**Awkward**

I shift my weight uncomfortably as I look between Kai and Scarlet. He looks as awkward as I feel, resolutely looking anywhere but at her. Not that she'll notice, with her own gaze fixed on the village we just left. I exchange a glance with Iko, but she just shrugs. Apparently, she's as clueless as I am. Since when is Iko clueless about awkward situations? She's practically the Commonwealth's self-appointed drama-expert!

"They got him?" Maha asks sharply, "What do you mean, "They got him"?"

"My, um, friend must have gotten captured by the soldiers in the village." Kai explains.

Maha huffs and starts walking back towards the ramshackle collection of houses.

"Where are you going?" I call after her.

"To save him." She answers simply.

"What, all by yourself?" Iko asks.

"If I have to."

I jog over to her so I'm walking beside her. "Maha, just think about this for a moment. The soldiers in there are highly trained an outnumber us ten to one. There's no way we can win this fight."

"Especially if my friend couldn't." Kai says, "I've seen him in action, and it takes a lot to bring him down."

"Good, I'd be disappointed otherwise." Maha replies calmly, not once faltering as she makes her way to the village.

I groan. "Maha, please, I need you to think about what you're doing right now."

"I have thought about it, and the conclusion is, I've already lost my son once, I won't lose him again." She says firmly.

"How could you possibly know he's your son?" Kai asks.

"I saw him when you and he were picking up rations. He's grown a lot since I last saw him, but I know it was him."

"Wait a sec, are you talking about the son that died?" Iko asks incredulously.

"The very same."

I sigh. "Maha, there's no way that could have been your son then."

She shoots me a glare. "I think I'd recognise my own child, Vampire, and it was him."

"She's not going senile guys." Scarlet calls over to us, and I jump slightly. She doesn't take her eyes off the village as she continues, "She's talking about Wolf."

Iko blinks at her. "Wolf? But he's not-"

"Your son's name is Ze'ev Kesley, right?" Scarlet asks Maha, who nods. "There you go. That's Wolf's real name."

"But how would he even be here?" I say incredulously, "He's, you know, where we're from. I seriously doubt he actually has the means to get here."

Scarlet nods towards Kai. "He was brought here along with Kai, right Kai?"

Kai keeps his gaze fixed on the ground, but nods, and Scarlet turns and raises her eyebrows at me as if to say "See? There you go!"

I pinch the bridge of my nose and sigh wearily. "Great. So now we've got someone else to rescue. Someone who, according to Kai, is very hard to bring down which means the Queen is either going to kill him immediately, or," I hurriedly add as Maha turns pale, "keep him under a very heavy guard and have a public execution."

"Let's hope it's option 2." Scarlet remarks.

"The Queen did send out an order for both mine and Wolf's capture." Kai says, "After putting that out, she's kinda obligated to hold a public execution."

Maha heaves a sigh of relief. "Good, that gives us time. I didn't find out my son is alive just to begin mourning for him again."

"We can't guarantee that we can rescue him though." I remind her, "A rescue operation is easier said than done."

"But we already have people on the inside." Iko says chirpily, "We just have to get word to them that they should start looking for Wolf."

"Also easier said than done Iko. None of them have their phones with them, and I don't think this place does letters."

Maha shoots me a confused look. "Letters?"

I gesture to her. "Case in point."

"Isn't there any way at all for the soldiers to communicate with the outside world?" Scarlet asks Maha.

She shakes her head. "I'm sorry, I wish there were, but The Queen tries to keep her soldiers as separate from the world around them as possible. No contact with their families, no going out for celebrations with loved ones, nothing. It's how she trains them to attack their fellow werewolves without batting an eye. It they had any sense of community, they wouldn't do their job as well."

"Unfortunately." Scarlet mutters.

"Maybe if we snuck in and pretended to be servants, we could get a message in that way." Iko suggests, "Sneak it into their food or something."

I frown. "That could work… but it'd be better if it was just you. Kai's basically a wanted criminal, and Scarlet's scent will give her away. I could mask it using vampire glamour, but if we get separated, I won't be able to keep the illusion up. You, on the other hand, wouldn't need any illusions. Everyone will just see a fairy in a servant's uniform."

"You might want to reel in your personality though." Maha says, "It's a bit of a dead give-away."

Iko shoots her an offended glare. "I'll have you know that I am an excellent actress. I can easily slip into the part of a meek and timid servant."

"For your sake, I sincerely hope so." Scarlet says.

"What about the rest of us? What should we do while Iko's in the palace?" Kai asks.

"We're going recruiting." I reply, "A revolution with ten people, eleven if you count Wolf, isn't going anywhere. But there are several hundred werewolves here, and the overwhelming majority of them live in pretty horrible conditions thanks to vampire rule. We convince them to take our side, and then we've got a revolution."

**A/N: Please review!**


	48. Thinking

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Jacin's POV:

**Thinking**

I'm on a standard castle patrol, which is good, since all I really have to do to avoid getting in trouble is walk around with my head upright, giving me plenty of room to think. And I have a lot of thinking to do, mostly about a certain werewolf that attacked the queen in the throne room.

I haven't thought about the old Alpha Intended in years. I was sad he was dead (or at least, I thought he was dead), but I had bigger things to worry about, which is why I never connected the dots and figured out that he was Wolf. And the annoying thing is, they were such easy dots to connect! Wolf was exactly the right age, he looked like the former Alpha Intended, and he was clearly suffering from bioelectric sickness. All clear signs that he hadn't died after all, just got shunted to a whole new dimension. How that happened, I couldn't even begin to guess, but it obviously did. And now, he was stuck back here, and was most likely going to be executed before the end of the week.

Some of the other guards think that The Queen will leave him alive. Some of the other guards have brains the size of peanuts. He nearly bit her hand off, of course she's going to kill him! It doesn't matter how big and strong he is, or how popular he is with the werewolves, she's not going to let him live after that. Really, the only real question is whether or not it will be a public execution. A public execution would set an example, sure, but the werewolf population would definitely not be happy that the Queen killed Ze'ev. She could always just say it was a rebel werewolf, but some idiot guard is going to get drunk and blab, so the public will find out who he was eventually, and they definitely won't be happy.

Ze'ev was very popular as Alpha Intended. He was everything a werewolf Alpha should be: strong, brave, and considerate towards his people. I met him once, as a squire. He and his family were paying a visit to the vampire palace. He seemed nice enough. Not overly friendly, but cordial. And he was under no illusions about the vampire reign, which I respected. A couple of times we've had Alphas who actually thought that the vampires were good leaders, or at least were extreme sycophants like Ran. It was reassuring to know that our next Alpha wouldn't be that kind. At least, that's what we all thought, until he suddenly "died". Now, we're stuck with what is basically an Omega with a supersized ego.

"Sir Clay."

I start and turn around. Kinney is standing behind me, his face in that carefully sculpted blank mask that all guards develop over time. Maybe it's because of the fact that I've seen it so often that I can pick out the worried glint in his eyes.

"The Queen wishes to see you in her throne room." He continues, "The… Alpha Intended has been apprehended."

Wolf doesn't bother playing dead this time, thrashing and twisting against his ropes as his captors struggle to drag him into the throne room. Levana watches all this with a satisfied smile. You can't see any marks on her hand from where Wolf bit her before, but with vampires, that doesn't mean much.

The guards toss him onto the floor in front of the throne. He huffs slightly and glares at the Queen in a menacing, vicious stare.

She meets his gaze calmly, completely unimpressed. "Would you care to transform into human shape for me, or do I have to make you?"

Wolf growled.

Levana shrugged. "Suit yourself."

I wait for Wolf's form to invariably shift into human. It would be hard for Levana to command him at the moment, but his mind should still be human enough for her to exact some control over him. The Stars know she's powerful enough. I wait for five seconds…. Ten seconds… fifteen seconds… half a minute… and Wolf still isn't human.

He narrows his eyes at the Queen and lifts his head a bit higher, a distinct arrogant air about him. Levana narrows her eyes, only her tightly clenched fists revealing her anger at having been thwarted.

A smile threatens to twitch across my face. This was turning out to be more fun than I expected.

Levana turns to the guards surrounding Wolf. "Shoot him in the leg."

Never mind.

One of the guards obliges so quickly, a part of me thinks that Levana's controlling him. One moment his pistol is safely tucked away into the holster at his belt, the next it's in his hand, smoke curling from the barrel, and Wolf is howling in pain as blood spills from a fresh hole in his thigh.

Levana smirks triumphantly. "Now unless you want that to happen again, I strongly suggest you cooperate and turn into your human form."

Wolf bares his teeth at her, but (with obvious reluctance) obeys, quickly shifting into his human form.

Levana studies him appreciatively. "My, my, you've grown into quite a handsome young man, haven't you?"

Wolf doesn't reply, only screwing his face up in a sneer.

"Now then, why did you attack me?" Levana asks, a slight edge to her voice.

Either Wolf doesn't hear it, or he doesn't care, because he just rolls his eyes and says, "How about the fact that you kidnapped me and threatened to make a slave out of my companion?"

Levana waved a hand nonchalantly. "Oh, that human? I don't see why you're so worked up about that. They are inferior creatures."

"You say the same thing about werewolves." Wolf remarks dryly, "And fairies, and elves. Any creature that isn't a vampire is an inferior creature."

"But humans are particularly low." Levana told him, "Anyway, on to the next question: why did you go to Earth."

"I wasn't planning on going. It was an accident. My brother and I were goofing off and ended up in your science labs where I got too close to one of your machines, end of story."

Levana frowned. "Then how are you still alive? It's impossible to survive in another dimension without the necessary safety equipment."

Wolf shrugged. "Well then, I guess you'll have to fire your scientists because I've managed just fine."

My eye gives an involuntary twitch. I know for a fact that that's not true. Wolf definitely suffers from bioelectric sickness. But the Queen doesn't need to know that.

"Maybe I will have to look into this further." She says, "For now, I'm afraid I've grown tired of your insolence. Sir Clay," she orders, turning to me, "take him down to the dungeons. Make sure you put him in a particularly nasty cell."

I bow, almost choking on my words. "Yes, My Queen."

"And Ze'ev," she tells Wolf sweetly, "I'd recommend you don't put up a fuss, or else someone might suffer for it. Now that I think of it, the former Alpha female has been causing a bit of trouble lately…"

Wolf bares his teeth, but doesn't struggle as I take his bindings and drag him out the door.

**A/N: **

**Payton: To answer your question, we'll be catching up with Cress and Thorne next chapter, which will be from the viewpoint of everyone's favourite android (or, in this case, fairy) Iko!**

**Please review!**

**Edit: Sorry this is so late. Fanfiction died on me and I couldn't post anything.**


	49. Acting

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Iko's POV:

**Acting**

You know what the biggest crime is on Luna (well, besides the cruelty, the poverty, and the corruption of course)? The complete lack of movies! They don't even have plays here! Talk about a waste of talent for an actress such as myself. Thank goodness Old Dmitri brought me to Earth as a playmate for Cinder, otherwise I might have been condemned to a life as a simple maid, and neither of the dimensions would ever have discovered my innate talent! And that would have been the biggest crime of all. I mean, take my maid impression for example: I've been wandering around the palace for ten whole minutes and nobody suspects a thing. That's quality acting right there!

A guard knocks into my shoulder (on purpose too, the jerk). "Watch where you're going, Fairy!" He snaps.

I bob a curtsey and stare at him with wide eyes. "Yes Sir, sorry Sir, beg your pardon Sir, please forgive me Sir!"

The guard scoffs and rolls his eyes, but turns his back and walks away without another word. And good thing too. If he'd turned around to talk again, he would've noticed me sticking my tongue out, and that would've landed me into some real trouble. What? Just because I'm an excellent actress doesn't mean I enjoy bowing down for other people, even if it is just pretend. It's humiliating!

Unfortunately, my superb acting isn't going to be much help in actually finding Cress, Thorne and Dmitri. For that, I'm going to need to use logic. Bleh, boring, but necessary. Like school.

"Okay," I mutter to myself, "if I were looking for a prisoner, where would I look first…" I snap my fingers, "the dungeons!"

"What are you doing out here?"

I cringe and turn, trying to look as meek as possible for the scowling guard standing in the doorway.

"Servants like you shouldn't be sitting around idly when there's work to be done! Do you know the punishment for slackers here?" he continues.

I force myself to shiver in fear. "N-no Sir, I-I was just going to get cleaning supplies Sir, for the dungeons, Sir."

The guard raises an eyebrow. "You're going to clean the dungeons?"

Crap, they do clean the dungeons, right?" "Um, yes Sir, I was ordered to go down there and give the cells a quick clean."

"The Queen gave you this task?" He asks sceptically.

Okay, calm down Iko, you just need to do some improvisation. "Um, no Sir. It-it was… one of the nobility Sir! They were complaining about the smell and sent me down there to, um, "make it only a punishment for the disgusting criminals". Sir." I add. Hey, a little extra submissiveness can't hurt.

The guard frowns, still suspicious, but nods. "Fine. But if I hear any other complaints from the nobles about the dungeons, it will be you who suffers, Fairy."

I nod frantically. "Yes Sir, I understand Sir, thank you Sir."

Ugh, okay, it's official: "Sir" is now my least favourite word.

It doesn't take long for me to find the one problem in my plan: I have no idea where the dungeons are. I figured you just had to go downstairs a lot, but apparently you have to go down the right stairs, in the right order, otherwise you'll end up in the training barracks (now that was a situation that put my acting skills to the test). And I can't exactly ask for directions now, can I? I'm supposed to belong here, and people who belong here know their way around. At least, I assume they do. This place is so stupidly big, I wouldn't be surprised if they kept little pocket maps. Heaven knows I could use a pocket-

"Iko?"

I freeze in my tracks and turn around to stare at a familiar petite girl with incredibly long blonde hair.

A relieved grin spreads across my face. "Cress! Finally, I found one of you! I've been looking all over this stupid castle."

"It's nice to see you too, but what are you doing here?" she asks, "I thought you were out recruiting with Cinder and Scarlet."

"I was, but something came up, and your group's role has changed slightly." I explain, "Turns out, someone had been brought back with Kai, and they managed to escape. He's with Cinder and Scarlet right now."

Cress grins. "That's great! But what are we doing now, since Kai's not here?"

"Well, the someone who helped Kai escape got himself caught again, and now we kinda need to get him back." I tell her.

"Okay, should be simple enough. What does he look like?"

"It's Wolf."

Cress stares at me. "Wolf? Quiet, acts like he doesn't exist, tattoo and covered in scars Wolf?"  
"The very same. Turns out, he's also a Lunar, and knows his way around the place a fair bit better than we do from what I can gather, and since he and Kai are sort-of friends now, we're bringing him into the plan." I smile conspiratorially, "Plus, I think there's something going on between him and Scarlet and I want some more info on that."

"Wolf and Scarlet?" Cress repeats sceptically, "Are you sure? It doesn't really seem like a match to me."

"Trust me, I know how to spot a couple, whether existing or in the making." I insist, "Like Cinder and Kai, for instance."

"Cinder and-?" Cress shakes her head, "Well, you keep up with this stuff more than I do, so I guess I'll just take your word for it."

I nod. "Good idea. Now, I don't suppose you know where Thorne and your dad are?"

Cress gestures to the floor. "Thorne went to check out the dungeons, and my dad's in the labs trying to figure out how much progress they've made with bioelectric protection."

I stare at her.

"The machines that let us stay in a different dimension without experiencing excruciating pain."

"Oh, right. All these sciency words just slip out of my brain." I say, "Now, do you have any idea where the dungeons are? I've tried going downstairs, but I couldn't find them."

Cress nods. "Yeah, they're just down the hall. You can tell it's the dungeons because it's the only staircase that isn't pristine and shiny."

"Perfect." I gesture down the hallway in a grand, sweeping motion. "Lead the way, Miss Moon."

I've discovered yet another inexcusable crime in Luna: the dungeons are disgraceful. And I don't mean, "a little bit more grimy than other places" disgraceful, I mean "has never even heard of proper living conditions" disgraceful. No wonder that guard was suspicious of my cover story. It's obvious that this place has never had any cleaners in it before. Rats run across the cobblestone floor, slipping in puddles of God knows what. The bars are rusty, and the only thing inside the cells are prisoners. Not even a bed. The only light comes from flickering electric overhead lights, the only sounds are the moans and groans of prisoners, or the militant footsteps of guards.

I hold my nose and look around. "It stinks in here! Do you think Thorne's gone in too deep?"  
"Unfortunately yes." says a voice from right next to me, "And let me tell you, it doesn't get any prettier."

Cress leans around me and beams. "Thorne!"

He winks. "Hey Cress, Iko. What are you doing here?"

I quickly fill him in, keeping an eye on the other guards. It doesn't look like they'll be noticing anything out of the ordinary anytime soon though. They all look like they're on the verge of throwing up.

Thorne shrugs. "Well granted, I wasn't looking for him, but I didn't see Wolf in any of these cells when I was searching. But I did hear some gossip from the other guards."

"Ooh, I love gossip!" I squeal and clasp my hands.

"This isn't quite the same as high school gossip, you know that right?" Thorne asks.

"Yes, yes I know but I still want to hear it."

Thorne chuckles. "Some things never change, I guess, even when you're in another world. Well, from what I can gather the Queen's got herself a new prisoner and the guards aren't too happy with her verdict on him. Not like they'd say that to her face though, not unless they have some bizarre urge to stop breathing."  
"That's got to be Wolf." Cress says.

"Right, only problem is, it sounds like the Queen ordered him to be taken to the dungeons." Thorne says.

"How is that a problem?" I ask, "Now we know where he is."

"It's a problem because, now I have to walk through this whole place again." Thorne grumbles.

"Iko and I can come with you if you want." Cress chirps.

I frantically try to signal to her to abort, but Thorne sighs in relief. "Great, if more than one of us suffer it might be so bad."

Mental note: give Cress a lesson on when and when not to offer help.

**A/N: And here we have Iko, because she is a queen.**

**Please review!**


	50. Help

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Wolf's POV: 

**Help**

"Will you stop shifting like that?" Jacin hisses at me.

I glare at the guard and shift my ears to wolfish points just to annoy him. Petty? Maybe. But for some reason I don't really feel inclined to be respectful to people who have previously tried to force me into a job I didn't want and are currently escorting me to a prison cell. I'm weird like that.

Besides, the shifting is necessary right now. I can't afford to let any of these soldiers and vampires see my limbs just suddenly pop out of their sockets. That would be a sign of weakness. Best to just keep my shape in constant flux like my skeleton seems to be insisting right now. It looks strange, but it doesn't look weak, and that's the most important thing.

Every guard we pass stops and stares with open curiosity. I dutifully ignore their gawking. They're probably just surprised to see a "dead" man walking in front of them, or they're fascinated by the weird combinations of wolf and human my form is taking. Whatever the case, I can guarantee that within the hour they'll have gotten used to both ideas and will completely and utterly resent me for daring to break the skin of their precious queen. They hold no loyalty to my family or to me. They'll probably cheer when the Queen forces me to slit my own throat or something.

"Mind if I ask you a quick question?" Jacin suddenly asks.

"Yes." I growl back.

"Too bad. How in the stars did you end up on Earth? The right technologies weren't even fully developed yet when you went missing."

"You're Queen already asked me that."

"Yes, but I highly doubt that "goofing off with your brother" was what really landed you into another dimension."

"Never get a career as a detective. You'd be terrible at it. I was goofing around with my brother, I got too close to one of your fancy machines, and got zapped to another dimension. End of story." I tell him snappishly.

"Alright, fine, I was just curious." Jacin mutters.

"You think that gives you the right to talk to me like you're not about to throw me into the dungeons?"

"Who says I'm taking you to the dungeons?" he says suddenly.

I frown at him. "The Queen. She ordered you to take me to the dungeons to await my execution and if you disobey she'll probably have your head ripped off and used as a football."

"What's a football?"

Both Jacin and I stop dead (not that I have much of a choice in the matter) and turn to look at who had spoken. Standing right behind us is a girl, maybe about mine and Jacin's age, with dark skin and hair twisted into corkscrew curls. Tracing down from her right eye are three long, uniform scars. She's quite pretty, I have to admit. Not as pretty as Scarlet, but prettier than most girls I've seen.

She smiles at me softly. "Is it a ball in the shape of a foot? But then it wouldn't be a ball, would it, and you couldn't make it out of a head. Is a head a football?"

"Uh, no." I say, thoroughly confused by this weird conversation, "It's just a ball that you kick around."

Her face brightens. "Ah, so it's the ball you use in kicks, yes?"

"Close enough." I say. Kicks is pretty similar to football anyway.

The girl turns to look at Jacin. "Are you going to take him to the dungeons, Jacin? You know the Queen will kill him."

He sighs. "I'm still trying to figure that out."  
"You didn't need time to figure it out when you tried to force me to become a guard." I grumble.

"Look, it was either force you to become a guard, or risk Winter getting hurt or killed. No offence, but I find the first option to be the least worst." Jacin snaps.

"Who's Winter, your girlfriend?" I ask.

He clenches his jaw, and his gaze briefly flicks over to the girl standing in front of us. She, on the other hand, is openly staring at him; and it's hard to tell with her dark skin, but I could swear that she was blushing.

"She's not my girlfriend." Jacin eventually says firmly.

There's a flash of disappointment in the girl's eyes, but she manages a grin as she looks up at me. "Yes… we're just friends. Jacin cares very deeply for my safety."

So this is Winter. She looks quite rich, maybe a member of the nobility? The scars are probably from an assassination attempt by an ambitious lower-class member whose body is undoubtedly rotting in a ditch somewhere. But why attack this particular noble? I've only known her for a few minutes, true, but she seems rather nice, certainly nicer than the other nobles. And if her smell is anything to go by, she isn't even a vampire. I'm getting a very strong hint of fairy, even a bit of werewolf, but no vampire. Not even elf. So what is she doing in the nobility?

"We don't have time for this." Jacin growls, "The Queen is already suspicious of me. If I don't bring Ze'ev down to the dungeons, she'll kill me on the spot."

Winter shakes her head fervently, her eyes wide with fear. "No she won't. I won't let her. She can't kill you Jacin, you're a loyal guard, the loyalest guard in the entire palace."

"A loyal guard wouldn't disobey her direct orders." Jacin reminds her.

"We can make it look like he overpowered you." Winter suggests, "Then she can't punish you."  
"If I fight right now, my mother will be forced to bear the punishment." I tell her, "I can't risk her life like that. Especially for a son she thinks is dead."

Jacin glares at me. "Now do you see why I had to force you into being a guard?"

"Jacin, that's enough." Winter chides him, before turning to look at Wolf. "I don't think Levana will personally check to see if you're in a prison cell, and none of the guards will want you to be recaptured, right Jacin?"

"You are seriously underestimating the level of corruption in this place Winter." He says dryly.

"But a lot of the guards will want him to stay alive, right? They're loyal to the Alphas."

Jacin heaves an exasperated sigh. "I guess that the other werewolves here aren't too happy about Levana wanting to kill you-"

"I didn't think anyone here was that loyal to my family." I say, surprised.

"Oh it's not about loyalty. You'd just make a much better Alpha than the one we have now."

I frown, confused. "Anyone can challenge the Alpha though."

"Yeah, but nobody wants the job. Too much responsibility and being used as a scapegoat." Jacin explains.

"But it means that no-one will probably report him missing." Winter remarks happily, "Which means we can hide him! Ooh, maybe we can paint him white and keep him in the menagerie!"

Jacin shakes his head. "There's no way that'll work Winter. Ze'ev is huge, even by werewolf standards, and the other werewolves will smell him."

"No they won't, the paint-smell will be too strong." Winter argues.

"Still, he looks different from a regular wolf. It won't work."

"I might be able to make myself look more like a regular wolf." I say.

Jacin eyes me sceptically. "Oh yeah? How?"

I shut my eyes and inhale deeply. This is not going to be comfortable.

I let myself slip into my wolf-form, the new skin and muscles forming as easily as if I was simply changing clothes. I shake my new coat of fur and glance up at Jacin and Winter.

Jacin looks decidedly unimpressed. "That doesn't look anything like a regular wolf."

I huff out a breath, steeling myself for the next part.

My torso shrinks and thins, the skin stretching uncomfortably around the unfamiliar shape. My legs grow thinner, and my front toes grow just a little longer. My fur shrinks into my skin and I wobble, my own body feeling suddenly unbelievable heavy to my weakened legs.

Every cell of my being seems to scream at me the wrongness of the shape, to adopt something easier, more natural. But, looking at the shock written across Jacin and Winter's faces, I knew that this form was perfect for hiding.

With some struggle, I manage another shift, altering my throat so I can speak. "I've basically fused my human and wolf skeletons together." I explain, my voice sounding unusually hoarse, even in my wolf-form. "Should make me look smaller and weaker."

"Yeah it does that, but I seriously doubt that's healthy." Jacin mutters.

I narrow my eyes at him. "I can't say I know why you care. Why are you helping me anyway? How do I know you're not trying to claim some extra credit by saying I escaped and being the big heroes who eventually catch me again?"

"We would never do that!" Winter gasps, "You have done nothing to deserve the Queen's wrath!"

"I nearly bit her hand off." I remind her.

Jacin growls in his throat. "Believe me, she deserves that and more."

I flick a quizzical ear in his direction, but don't comment.

Winter crouches down so that she's eye-level with me, her golden-brown eyes practically glowing. "You are right to be suspicious of us." She murmurs, never breaking her gaze. "In this castle there is an assassin around every corner, and the blood of their victims stains the carpets and tapestries. Everyone ignores it, because if they don't, then their blood will join the mix. But that means no-one can clean up the blood and heal the wounds inflicted on the palace. So the palace is always bleeding with the blood of all the betrayals and plots that happen every day. I don't wish for your blood to join it."  
"…Thanks?" I venture. I really don't know what to make of that tirade.

Jacin groans exasperatedly. "Look, you have two choices: you can let me escort you to the dungeons and certain death, or you can take a chance with Winter and I for the slim possibility of survival. What's your answer?"

I look at him, his expression as blank as uncarved stone. I look at Winter, hope and desperation written all over her face as clearly as if it had been painted. My shoulders slump and I sigh. "Alright, I'll go with you."

**A/N: I'd just like to say that the thing about how literally everyone in the books is totally struck dumb by Winter's beauty except for Wolf is one of my favourite Wolflet moments. I can just imagine the girls having a contest to see who has the most devoted boyfriend by having Winter flirt with each of them and all the guys get all nervous and flustered except for Wolf because THAT'S HOW DEVOTED HE IS TO SCARLET! *Ahem* long live Wolflet.**

**Also, when I say football, I mean the soccer kind, not American football. **

**Please review!**


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